Truth be told, the vast majority of a 53-man roster almost any year is very easy to put together. It’s probably rare that there are not at least 40 spots already set in stone, if not by the start of the preseason, then certainly by the finish, and it’s probably typically closer to 45 or more.
For the Pittsburgh Steelers, players like Ben Roethlisberger, JuJu Smith-Schuster, James Conner, Vance McDonald…really, just about any starter would never have been under any risk of losing their spot on the 53-man roster.