The Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2026 offseason practices concluded in the middle of June, and next up is the team’s annual training camp, which will get underway in late July at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe. Ahead of that, we will preview the team’s offseason roster three players at a time as part of a multi-post series. This Steelers 90 in 30 roster preview, which includes outlooks for every player, is organized alphabetically by last name for easy follow-along.
This series figures to exceed 90 players this year as the team can carry 91 players during the offseason due to the allowance of one international player designation.
The next three players we will preview ahead of Steelers 2026 training camp are: S Sebastian Castro, OT Dylan Cook, and C Greg Crippen.
S Sebastian Castro: Castro had an eventful 2025 rookie season. He was originally signed by the Steelers last May as an undrafted free agent out of Iowa. After failing to make the 53-man roster last summer, Castro opened the 2025 regular season on the Steelers’ practice squad.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed Castro off Pittsburgh’s practice squad at the end of September. From there, he appeared in just one game for his new team, with all six of his snaps coming on special teams.
The Buccaneers waived Castro in early November, and the Steelers subsequently claimed him off waivers. Castro remained on the Steelers’ 53-man roster for the remainder of the 2025 season, and he even suited up for the team’s lone playoff game.
After returning to the Steelers, Castro only played on special teams, and he ended the 2025 regular season having logged 72 snaps in that phase of the game. He was credited with two total special teams tackles in regular-season play. He played on the kickoff-return and kickoff-coverage units.
Outlook: A physical safety during his college career, Castro is now primed to battle this summer for a spot on the 53-man roster and likely as a depth safety who can contribute on special teams.
The Steelers are likely to keep at least four safeties to open the 2026 regular season. Three of those spots seem to already be spoken for in the form of Jalen Ramsey, DeShon Elliott, and newcomer Jaquan Brisker.
The Steelers also selected S Robert Spears-Jennings in the seventh round of the 2026 NFL Draft, and a few weeks ago, the team signed free agent S Darnell Savage, a former first-round pick, to its offseason roster. In short, Castro will have his work cut out for him this summer, and he certainly is far from a lock to open the 2026 regular season on the Steelers’ 53-man roster.
With Castro already being known a little bit as a plus-special teams player, that certainly won’t hurt his cause this summer. He also played some in the slot during his college career, so he does have a little bit of position flexibility.
Should Castro ultimately fail to make the Steelers’ 53-man roster to open the 2026 regular season, there’s an incredibly good chance he remains in Pittsburgh as a member of the team’s practice squad. Whatever ultimately happens with Castro by Week 1, he will certainly be a player worth monitoring throughout training camp and the preseason.
OT Dylan Cook: Originally signed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2022 as an undrafted free agent out of Montana, Cook finally saw his first NFL regular-season playing time in 2025 with the Steelers. He took over at left tackle in place of an injured Broderick Jones (neck) in Week 14 and remained the starter there for the remainder of the season.
All told, Cook logged 291 offensive snaps in the 2025 regular season and five more on special teams. He also started and played every snap in the team’s lone playoff game last season. Pro Football Focus charged Cook with two sacks allowed for the entire 2025 season and nine total pressures allowed. Cook was also penalized twice in the six total contests that he appeared in.
For the 2025 season, and that includes the Steelers’ lone playoff game, PFF gave Cook an overall player grade of 77.4. His pass-blocking grade was 79.4, and his run-blocking grade was 70.4 for the season.
Overall, Cook played surprisingly well in 2025, especially knowing it was his first NFL regular-season playing time since entering the league in 2022.
Outlook: The Steelers are likely to move OT Troy Fautanu to the left side this summer, and if that happens, Cook could open training camp as the team’s starting right tackle, especially if Jones opens his time in Latrobe on the Active/PUP list.
Cook could be challenged for the starting right tackle job this summer by rookie Max Iheanachor, the team’s first-round draft selection this year out of Arizona State. Iheanachor, however, enters the NFL as a very raw tackle. That might give Cook an early advantage.
Assuming Cook ultimately winds up being the Week 1 starter opposite Fautanu, he will need to play well above the line to hold off Iheanachor as long as possible, as the youngster is destined to become a starter at some point.
Should Cook ultimately not win a starting tackle job to open the 2026 regular season, odds are exceptionally good that he will be a swing backup, especially if Jones isn’t healthy enough to play by Week 1.
C Greg Crippen: The Steelers signed Crippen as an undrafted free agent in May after he participated in the team’s rookie minicamp as a tryout player. During his college career at Michigan, which spanned five seasons, Crippen played in 40 games with all of his playing time coming at center. He logged 21 starts and played 1,417 total offensive snaps while at Michigan.
Crippen was not invited to the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine, and he instead worked out at Michigan’s Pro Day. He measured in at 6034, 301 pounds with 31 3/8-inch arms and 9 1/2-inch hands. He ran his pro day 40-yard dash in 5.44 seconds and recorded a vertical jump of 28 inches to go along with an 8’8″ broad jump. His short-shuttle time was 4.72 seconds, and his three-cone time was 7.90 seconds. Crippen also did 24 reps on the bench at his pro day.
Pro Football Focus charged Crippen with allowing just four sacks during his college career at Michigan and just 20 total pressures. He was penalized just six times during his college career, five of those coming during the 2025 season.
Outlook: Crippen showing enough during his rookie minicamp tryout to warrant the team signing him is an impressive feat. In fact, he was the only true center during this year’s rookie minicamp.
The Steelers have just a few candidates this summer to compete for their backup center job behind starter Zach Frazier. That list includes Ryan McCollum, Brock Hoffman, and Crippen. Because of that brief list of center-capable players, Crippen at least has a fighter’s chance at making the 53-man roster this year, especially if the team keeps 10 offensive linemen. Should fewer than 10 offensive linemen ultimately be kept to start the 2026 regular season, Crippen might be battling throughout the summer for a practice squad spot.
Assuming he stays healthy throughout training camp, Crippen figures to log a fair amount of playing time at center in preseason games. How he fares will go a long way in determining if he’s worthy of at least making the practice squad.
Of all the rookie undrafted free agents signed by the Steelers this offseason, Crippen is one of just a few who have a decent chance of making the 53-man roster after the preseason concludes, mainly because of the position he plays. He should be fun to watch throughout training camp and the preseason. Don’t sleep on him being an undrafted free agent who had to earn a roster spot via a rookie minicamp tryout.
Previous Posts In This Series:
90 In 30: Steelers 2026 Training Camp Preview Series — Drew Allar, Spencer Anderson, Kyler Baugh
90 In 30: Steelers 2026 Training Camp Preview Series — Jaheim Bell, Keeanu Benton, Germie Bernard
90 In 30: Steelers 2026 Training Camp Preview Series — Yahya Black, Chris Boswell, Devan Boykin
90 In 30: Steelers 2026 Training Camp Preview Series — Jaquan Brisker, Carson Bruener, Cole Burgess
