When your initial 53-man roster contains some unusual positional numbers, you just know that changes are coming, and soon, and that there is a reason for the initial imbalance. The Pittsburgh Steelers’ initial 53-man roster included eight offensive linemen, eight defensive linemen, six inside linebackers, and eight defensive backs.
Some of those figures are on the far end of normal. Others are very much not normal. And we’ve already found out why those numbers were the way they were and why certain positions were short-changed in comparison to others. It has to do with the availability of vested veterans at the bottom of the roster and outdated procedural rules.