5 players on hot seat as Steelers get ready to open training camp at Saint Vincent

When compiling a list of those individuals earning a spot on the proverbial hot seat entering the 2024 season, it’s always easy to start at the top.

And with the Pittsburgh Steelers, it would be logical to place coach Mike Tomlin squarely in the crosshairs.

Tomlin, after all, owns a 3-8 record in the postseason since the 2010 season when he took the Steelers to the Super Bowl for the second time in his tenure. As has been well documented, Tomlin’s playoff record beginning with a defeat at New England in the 2016 AFC championship game is 0-5 and includes home losses to Jacksonville and Cleveland.

Team president Art Rooney II acknowledged in January that it’s time for the Steelers to end that streak, and he showed his faith in Tomlin by extending his contract for three more years, running through the 2027 season.

For this discussion, though, the focus will be on the players who will report Wednesday to Saint Vincent. They will be the ones tasked with doing the dirty work required to earn those elusive postseason victories.

Here are five players whose behinds could feel the warmth in training camp.

1. Cameron Heyward

Heyward heads this list not just because he turned 35 in May and is entering Year 14 in the NFL.

It’s not simply because of a groin injury that was aggravated in the season opener and led to a stint on injured reserve. Or that he underwent another core muscle procedure in the offseason.

It goes beyond Heyward accumulating just two sacks in 11 games, the fewest amount of quarterback takedowns on his stat sheet since he began starting in 2013.

Heyward happens to carry the second-largest salary cap hit on the team at $22.4 million and missed the first two weeks of organized team activities while seeking a contract extension. Heyward can become a free agent in March, and the Steelers haven’t shown an urgency to add any years to his deal.

Heyward wants to play in the NFL in 2025. He needs to be productive in 2024 first, and that is a question mark given the reasons already listed above.

2. Dan Moore Jr.

The three-year starter at left tackle, Moore held onto his position throughout offseason workouts even though 2023 first-round pick Broderick Jones is waiting in the wings.

The Steelers could be waiting for training camp to make the much-anticipated move of sending Jones from right tackle to the left side, his natural position. This would free up 2024 first-round pick Troy Fautanu to get first-team reps at right tackle — provided Moore isn’t part of that equation.

Moore has gone on record as saying that he isn’t comfortable playing right tackle. He may have no option if the Steelers decide it’s time to put Jones in his familiar place and ask him to protect the quarterback’s blind side.

3. Donte Jackson

Searching for a veteran to pair with second-year player Joey Porter Jr. at cornerback, the Steelers didn’t sign a free agent or use a high-round draft pick to address the position. Instead, they traded their most established wide receiver, Diontae Johnson, to Carolina to acquire Jackson, who spent his first six seasons with the Panthers.

Jackson took the first-team reps in offseason workouts, and he likely will be there Thursday for the first workout. He’s the latest veteran to get a shot at locking down an outside cornerback spot, following in the footsteps of Levi Wallace and Patrick Peterson last year.

Jackson started 16 games for Carolina last year, his most in a season since his rookie year in 2018. His primary competition will come from a pair of 2023 rookies: Cory Trice Jr. and Darius Rush. Cameron Sutton would have been a possibility until the NFL suspended him for the first half of the season for violating the league’s personal conduct policy.

4. Zach Frazier

It’s probably unfair to put a rookie on a “hot seat” list, particularly if the rookie in question is not a first-round draft pick.

Frazier, though, could be thrust into a starting role in the middle of the offensive line. The Steelers used the No. 51 overall pick to select the former West Virginia center in the second round.

Veteran Nate Herbig took the first-team snaps in offseason workouts, but he could be merely keeping the seat warm for Frazier. His development in training camp and how quickly he is ready to handle the intellectual component of the position will determine whether he opens the season as the starting center.

5. DeMarvin Leal

Tomlin believes the biggest progression in a young NFL player’s career comes in his second season. It was a reasonable expectation for Leal, the team’s 2022 third-round draft pick and an athletic defensive end from Texas A&M.

Leal, though, regressed from his rookie season. It got to the point that he was inactive for four of the final five games of the regular season and then was scratched again for the wild-card playoff game at Buffalo.

When he did get on the field in the second half of the season, Leal’s impact was minimal. He totaled 26 snaps in his final five games and lost playing time to former fifth-rounder Isaiahh Loudermilk.

The message got through to Leal, who said all the right things during offseason workouts. Now, he must prove it on the practice fields at Saint Vincent and the three preseason games or risk being a roster casualty.