Will Caleb Johnson make the 2026 Steelers?

As of 4-2-2026 , the Pittsburgh Steelers' running back room is led by Warren and Dowdle as our primary options.

They are supported by third-year player Kaleb Johnson, veteran free agent addition Travis Homer, and Max Hurleman.

The draft and free agency can add more.

So the question is this. Will Caleb Johnson make the 2026 Steelers?

He is not a return man, a virtual zero on kick coverage, not a goal line back. He had an awful 2025 season.

Any number of players can be our RB #3.

 

Probably not.

 

How did I miss his second season?

 

Caleb Johnson will not make the Pittsburgh Steelers 2026 roster. I will bet your house and mine.

 

Exactly.

I guess we don't even have to see one practice or play in preseason to determine if a player is worthless or not.

He didn't look great last season, but he was just a rookie. He should get another look this season after his first NFL offseason and conditioning. He should know what he is walking into and should have made whatever adjustments and preparation to his body and mind to be able to give his best effort.

I want to see if there has been any development or improvement before I decide on whether a player can help the team or not.

 

Coach did all he could do .. He gave him a clean slate and he told him he needs to be a 3 down back and contribute on ST'S .. He has the playbooks and the ST unit plays he will need to master them all mentally and be able to carve out a role ...

I still think he will be a decent NFL RB ,but it's either a zone read early down RB , as a runner only , or a power RB a short yardage specialist.. One he needs to trim and get faster to the hole the other he needs to bulk up and increase his lower body strength .

I am not sure which one ? To answer the question is no he will not make this Team..

 

https://www.behindthesteelcurtain.c...es-in-kaleb-johnson-jaylen-warren-rico-dowdle


Seems like MM stills sees value in him. August is a ways off and lot can happen between now and camp. Will he make the 53? Possibly but I dont see the Steelers completely walking away from him so he will at least be on the PS in 2026. Tomlin might be gone but its the same FO staff that held onto Edmunds as a 4th or 5th back for years, Kept bringing Trey Sermon back last year and let a 1st round pick at RB walk last season in favor of an undrafted guy who exceeded all expectations as a backup but struggled with a larger role. So I dont think he is going anywhere.

 

I think he makes the team because if one of the top two guys goes down he'll have value.

I think (like last year) he won't dress much (unless someone gets hurt). Doesn't seem to play on teams and also doesn't seem to be good at pass pro. Not good for a RB who isn't a clear starter.

Signing Dowdle really hurt his chances of seeing the field (if everyone stays healthy). The plan appears to be to get Warren and Dowdle both over 200 carries. There won't be much work left for Johnson. Espeically if since the other two guys both appear to be good at pass pro (and Johnson appears to be bad at this).

Not a huge deal, but signing Dowdle basically made Johnson a wasted pick...although maybe the team decided he was a wasted pick and that's why they signed Dowdle.

 

Joel now I think you're messing around with all these counting mishaps

 

add to that

a rookie with the worse
FO
HC
OC
STC
TURF
PS2

 

You are not listening to Mike McCarthy then.

McCarthy has spoken several times about Caleb Johnson. Same goes for Roman Wilson, another player that I thought would be out the door this year.

 

I guarantee Caleb Johnson won't make the team, but I think Kaleb Johnson will make the team .

 

We draft Kaleb Downs

 

I saw this at Walmart in Altoona today. apparently they’re holding out for James Conner to return to the Steelers this season. LoL (trying to add picture..)

 

What was the clearance price?

 

The old stock is the new stock!

 

The Tomlin coached team had a standard. All players had to fit into that standard. Square pegs in a square hole. Round pegs in a round hole. I think that McCarthy is going to play more to the strengths of players rather than just force them into the correct shaped hole. There will be a base requirement (physical ability, ability to learn a plan and follow it), but I believe that we will see a Steelers team that takes advantage of a players strengths and avoids his weakness.

If Roman Wilson can run a route, he makes the team and plays (4th in the depth chart).

If Kaleb Johnson can get his confidence back, he makes the team and plays (3rd in the depth chart).

We used to howl at the moon about various players, plans, points of the game or the OC/DC. The last couple of years, that angst turned towards the top of the coaching pyramid as more people realized that there was a common denominator to all of the problems. Tomlin had his hand on the rudder for all of it. We wanted a coaching change and now we got it. It is not the young, energetic OC that many of us were leaning towards, but it is a proven HC with a solid track record. McCarthy's biggest roadblock with Dallas was probably Jerry Jones. I think that in the Steelers organization, he will have much more freedom to act as a HC than he did in Dallas. That is going to give a lot of players a new shot at life and I think that it is going to help improve older players. One of my chief complaints has always been that the Steelers had talent, but that the talent frequently played a solo game and not always as a team. I think that McCarthy is going to bring all of the elements together to play more as a team and less as an individual for an overall step up.

IMO

 

The only Caleb Johnson I know is a LB, and He doesn't play for us, unless we just signed him.

 

@Joel Buchsbaum said so it’s his post

So it must be true

 

I think that is the best reason to keep him, that both Warren and Dowdle are on short contracts. They also need depth behind them.

Johnson wouldn't make any sense as a third-down back. He is weak in pass pro and not as good a receiver as either Warren or Dowdle. That is one of the great things the Dowdle signing could do for the Steelers, allow Warren to split the early downs and get back handling the third down snaps, where he thrived as a blocker and receiver.

 

The more I watch the more I see short yardage as well..I do think he needs to add more leg power.. I guess the question will be if MM would rather throw or run on short yardage . If it's throw and KJ doesn't earn a hat I don't see the reason to keep him..

 

I have no clue. New coaches. New beginning. They will look at him. If he sucks goodbye