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The Steelers could need to add multiple cornerbacks this offseason.
Last season, the Pittsburgh Steelers were fortunate that then-rookie cornerback Joey Porter Jr. was ready for prime time and stepped up in the second half of the season. Going into this offseason, the Steelers have several free agents at cornerback and could be looking for a big rebuild of the position. Here are the Steelers cornerbacks currently on the offseason roster.
We are much more excited for Cam Heyward than we are disappointed or T.J. Watt.
Thursday night was the NFL Honors where the league gives out its big individual awards for the season. For whatever reason, this is something NFL fans, including Pittsburgh Steelers fans get heavily invested in. Let’s take a look at how things went for the Steelers and offer some takeaways.
Let’s hand out our awards for the Steelers at the end of the season.
The 2023 Pittsburgh Steelers season is in the books and so it is time for us to hand out our end-of-the-season superlatives. There were some exceptional performances this season but not enough to help the Steelers get their first playoff win since 2016.
Could Joey Porter win Defensive Rookie of the Year?
The Associated Press released the list of five finalists for Defensive Rookie of the Year. Pittsburgh Steelers rookie cornerback Joey Porter Jr. used a strong final 11 games when he was inserted into the starting lineup. Here’s a full rundown of the finalists.
The Steelers lost two players quickly with possible concussions.
In a matter of just a few plays against the Buffalo Bills, the Pittsburgh Steelers sent two players to the locker room to be evaluated for concussions. The team announced that wide receiver Allen Robinson and cornerback Joey Porter Jr. were both questionable to return.
Porter had to come off after taking a cheap shot in the back from Bills offensive lineman Conner McGovern. Porter was in the midst of making a tackle when McGovern came up and slammed into Porter on his blindside.
The hit on Robinson was no better. A clear helmet-to-helmet hit on the tackle you could hear clearly on the replay, the officials felt no reason to throw the flag. There was also no flag on the hit on Porter.
Calvin Austin III came in for Robinson and caught a touchdown on the next drive. James Pierre replaced Porter in the secondary.
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The Steelers will need big games from Pat Freiermuth and Mason Cole this week.
No one is giving the Pittsburgh Steelers a shot this weekend against the Buffalo Bills. The weather is going to be miserable and could end up the great equalizer between a team with one of the top quarterbacks in the league and a former third-stringer pushed into the starting lineup.
Putting aside the quarterbacks, here are the five players for the Steelers who must step up this week.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame trimmed down their list of 173 nominees to 25 semifinalists.
Back in September, the Pro Football Hall of Fame released their list of 173 Modern-Era nominees for the 2024 class, which included 14 players who spent time with the Miami Dolphins.
On that list were Ricky Williams, Antonio Freeman, Irving Fryar, Chad Johnson, Brandon Marshall, Wes Welker, Josh Sitton, Richmond Webb, Brendon Ayanbadejo, Karlos Dansby, Larry Izzo, Joey Porter, Troy Vincent and Matt Turk.
On Tuesday, the Hall of Fame trimmed the nominees down to 25 semifinalists, and unfortunately, none were former Dolphins.
The list of nominees includes Eric Allen, Jared Allen, Willie Anderson, Tiki Barber, Anquan Boldin, Jahri Evans, London Fletcher, Dwight Freeney, Antonio Gates, Eddie Geroge, James Harrison, Rodney Harrison, Devin Hester, Torry Holt, Andre Johnson, Robert Mathis, Julius Peppers, Smith Sr., Fred Taylor, Hines Ward, Ricky Watters, Reggie Wayne, Vince Wilfork, Patrick Willis and Darren Woodson.
15 finalists will be announced at a later date.
Could the Steelers add Jaylon Johnson to pair up with Joey Porter Jr.?
According to ESPN reporter Jeremy Fowler, the Pittsburgh Steelers are among the teams who have an interest in working a trade with the Chicago Bears star cornerback Jaylon Johnson. Tuesday is the trade deadline and this is coming together quickly for Johnson and the Bears as he just requested the trade.
It would make perfect sense for the Steelers to make a trade like this and history says it works. Back in 2019, the Steelers made a deadline deal to bring in safety Minkah Fitzpatrick when the season seemed lost and they nearly made the playoffs. This time around the Steelers are in much better shape and Johnson might be the final piece of the puzzle on defense.
From late last night…Bears and Johnson’s agent Chris Ellison have next seven hours to swing a deal. Teams I’ve talked to believe San Fran, Pittsburgh and Philly have been in corner market to some degree. https://t.co/kbsabNb5NZ
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) October 31, 2023
Unfortunately, this trade would be very expensive and it would do nothing to help what is one of the worst offenses in the NFL. But just like in 2019, it was the offense that took the hit with the Ben Roethlisberger injury and the team pivoted to defense instead.
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The Steelers could be minus multiple top cornerbacks versus the Jaguars.
The Pittsburgh Steelers are going against the Jacksonville Jaguars this week and they could head into this game short-handed at cornerback. The team put out its game-status report and three of the team’s top cornerbacks are listed as questionable with injuries. The Steelers were forced to put
Mike Tomlin talked like a man with no sense of urgency to play either of the team’s top two rookies.
Two seasons ago, Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin took a college guard from Illinois, drafted him in the third round of the 2021 NFL draft and was almost immediately anointed as the team’s starting center and heir apparent to Maurkice Pouncey. Of course, we know this was Kendrick Green and we know this story didn’t have a happy ending.
So maybe this is why Tomlin has become so insistent that we practice patience in getting rookies on the field too soon. Even last season, quarterback Kenny Pickett didn’t start the season in the starting lineup even though everyone knew he would be there.
This season it is all about cornerback Joey Porter Jr. and offensive tackle Broderick Jones. Both guys have gotten a feel for the game with Jones actually getting a start but in his Tuesday presser, Tomlin insisted the team will continue to take its time in working either into more prominent roles.
I think what each week they all are. And so there’s several variables at play. It’s what it is that they do and the quality of which they do it, but it’s also the opportunity and such, as always the case in team play. Things and decisions don’t happen in a vacuum.
You could be somewhat pleased with the progress of a player in terms of the direction that they’re moving, but the opportunity has to be there. And so we challenge all of these guys to not be patient. This is not a patient person’s business. It doesn’t behoove them to be patient. We ask them to work while they wait for their opportunity. And then put their readiness on display.
And to this point, some of the guys that you’re asking about, Broderick Jones, Joey Porter, Jr. have done a really good job of that. And so we’ll wait for continued opportunities and increase the opportunities for them and and check their progress as we move forward.
Tomlin seems to be completely content with not putting the best players on the field to stick to his plan, even if that plan isn’t really working.
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