Two Players Who Could Force Their Way Onto Steelers Roster

PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Steelers travel to Buffalo to end their season against the Bills.

At this point, the team has an idea of most of the players who will make up their 53-man roster. There's room for change, though, and a few players who could still force the team's hand and find their way onto the active roster by the end of the weekend.

Heading into the preseason finale, two players have a bigger opportunity than maybe anyone else. Let's start with RB3.

Lew Nichols

The Steelers have probably decided their running back-3 job, but it's hard to say it's cemented at this point. Travis Homer feels like the favorite because of his special teams ability, but don't rule out Lew Nichols forcing the team's hand and finding his way onto the roster.

A strong performance against the Bills could give him the edge. Homer hasn't played much offense during the preseason, and probably wouldn't play much offense during the regular season. Pittsburgh already has two special teams aces within their skill positions in Ben Skowronek and Kaden Wetjen. Do they really have room for a third?

Nichols needs to make a play on special teams and maybe break a few nice runs to force the Steelers' hand. If he does, it may be too hard for them to pass on him over a player who could likely be placed on the practice squad.

Don't rule out Lew Nichols winning the RB3 job over Homer (and Kaleb Johnson).

Robert Spears-Jennings

Rayshawn Jenkins feels like he's made the team already after a strong performance against the New York Jets, and getting the nod to start alongside DeShon Elliott in that game. Rookie Robert Spears-Jennings has had his chances throughout training camp, though, and has made the most of them.

It's not a lock for Spears-Jennings to make this roster, but it's probably already difficult to cut him. If he can put on a strong performance against the Bills, it'll be impossible to justify moving on from a promising rookie.

What's working against Spears-Jennings is that he's a seventh-round draft pick. Chances are, he wouldn't get claimed off waivers and would make his way to the team's practice squad. But if he can show the NFL that he's capable of playing in this league, just like he's shown the Steelers throughout the summer, Pittsburgh will know they can't take the risk of letting him go.

Look for Spears-Jennings to play a larger role against the Bills than he has the first two games, and if he continues to look good, he'll be a player everyone has on their final 53-man roster this weekend.

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