The Steelers may be staring at a running back decision they didn’t exactly sign up for, and Kaleb Johnson looks like the name that could get squeezed out.
Johnson is entering his second year trying to carve out a spot in Mike McCarthy’s offense, but the path in front of him is getting narrower by the day. Jaylen Warren is back after piling up 1,200 all-purpose yards, and Rico Dowdle arrives as a back-to-back 1,000-yard rusher who spent the 2024 season working - and succeeding - under McCarthy. That’s a strong top of the depth chart before you even get to the rest of the room.
Pittsburgh also made moves that say plenty about how it views the position. One of the team’s first free-agent additions was Travis Homer, a running back and special-teams contributor who is set to make $1.3 million in 2026. Because of what he brings on offense and on fourth downs, Homer looks close to a sure thing for the 53-man roster.
Then there’s Eli Heidenreich, the Mt. Lebanon High School product who made noise at Navy and has already generated buzz heading into his first training camp. Heidenreich was productive as both a runner and receiver in college, and so far with the Steelers, he has worked only with the running backs.
That combination makes the picture pretty clear: Homer and Heidenreich both appear to be trending toward roster spots, and both fit the kind of versatile, pass-catching, special-teams profile McCarthy and his staff have emphasized. If that holds, Johnson could be the odd man out.
And yet, being on the outside in Pittsburgh doesn’t mean Johnson has lost value. Around the league, teams are looking for backup running backs or are at least willing to gamble on upside, and Johnson still offers plenty of that. He’s a former third-round pick, and he won’t turn 23 until before the season starts.
That creates a real opportunity for the Steelers. His trade value is apparently stronger than it might first seem, and if Pittsburgh believes the rest of the league is about to catch up to its own view of Johnson, the time to move him is before that market cools.
In the right situation, Johnson could still become the player the Steelers envisioned when they drafted him. But with the room crowded and the roster math working against him, there’s a strong case for Pittsburgh to deal him before the 2026 campaign begins.
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