Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
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.
Patrick Peterson believes that Kenny Pickett will benefit from new OC Arthur Smith.
A solid run game is easily a developing quarterback’s best friend. And that’s what the Pittsburgh Steelers have in Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren. The two backs, who combined for 1,819 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns, will also be best friends with run-loving offensive coordinator Arthur Smith.
“I think Kenny Pickett will have the opportunity to really reap the fruits of this labor, having Arthur coming in there, having kind of like the same athletic attributes, a mobile quarterback, a guy who likes to throw the ball on the run, who can throw the ball on the run,” Peterson said on the Feb. 15 episode of All Things Covered.
“But also having a running back and a running committee that’s able to make his game a little bit easier. I’m excited about the hire.”
We only need to look to All-Pro Derrick Henry and two career-best seasons in Tennessee under Smith. In 2019 and 2020, Henry put up a whopping 3,567 yards and 33 touchdowns. There’s no reason to think Harris and Warren combined can’t come close to that in the first two seasons of Smith calling the plays.
Just a fraction of that should increase the chances of success for Pickett, who will undoubtedly be under tremendous pressure to perform at the level of a first-round draftee heading into his third season.
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The Steelers could move Patrick Peterson to safety full time in 2024.
The Pittsburgh Steelers plan to replace cornerback Cameron Sutton with Patrick Peterson didn’t quite go according to plan last season. The addition of Patrick Peterson didn’t give the Steelers the lockdown cornerback they hoped for but thankfully the emergence of Joey Porter Jr. really helped.
But not the Steelers are faced with an interesting personnel choice. Peterson will turn 34 before the start of the season and has a cap hit of $9.775 million this season. Pittsburgh hasn’t given any indication about Peterson’s future but the future Hall of Famer wants to stay.
“The question is if the Steelers want me to finish with them,” Peterson said during his podcast. “I signed a two-year deal for a reason.”
The simplest solution might be to move Peterson to safety. Injuries forced the move last season and he played well. A safety tandem of Peterson and Minkah Fitzpatrick doesn’t sound like such a bad idea if the Steelers address cornerback via free agency or the draft.
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Patrick Peterson has one year remaining on his contract to the tune of $9.775 million.
As all non-playoff teams are this time of year, the Pittsburgh Steelers are making their way through exit interviews.
One player who’s gone through the process is Patrick Peterson.
Though he likely knows, Mike Tomlin only said that it’s too early to (publicly) make the call on whether he’ll return to Pittsburgh in 2024.
“I did meet with Pat (Peterson), we had a good exit interview,” Tomlin said in his season-end press conference. “I’m really appreciative of his experience and professionalism and who he is as a man and player, what he’s willing to do. But from a decision-making standpoint, we’re just really at the infancy of it all from that standpoint.”
The inevitable happens and players age. At 33, Peterson’s age was certainly on display this season, which led many to speculate if the Steelers will permanently move him to safety.
Of his 1,186 total defensive snaps, Peterson played 252 in the safety role, according to Pro Football Focus‘ advanced stats.
Peterson was initially brought in not only based on past experience but also as a mentor to the young defensive backs room. Joey Porter Jr. has shown he can hang with the big dogs and I think he’ll be just fine without him.
Per Over the Cap, Peterson’s remaining contract year carries a cap number of $9.775 million or 4% of the cap. Should the Steelers cut him before June 1, it’ll save $6.850 million with $2.925 million of dead money on the books.
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Pittsburgh needs guys like Alex Highsmith and Calvin Austin III to step up their games in these final six games.
With six games left to play, the Pittsburgh Steelers find themselves in a great position to make a late push and cement their spot in the playoffs. But if the Steelers are going to keep winning, they need more from these five players down the stretch.
Patrick Peterson knows just how Steelers fans feel.
Gone are the days of the Pittsburgh Steelers manhandling their opponents, wracking up 30+ points and winning in convincing fashion. For most of their wins over the last three seasons, fans have been watching the Steelers hang on by a thread in their victories.
Pittsburgh’s 20-16 win over the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday was no different. But it was a dub nonetheless, and that’s all that matters in the end.
Steelers cornerback Patrick Peterson knows how fans feel. “I know we gave a lot of people a heart attack, but we did that s–t,” he said in an Instagram video.
Fans have grown accustomed to weekly heart attacks as the Steelers fight tooth and nail only to win by a narrow margin.
But December is coming, a month in which the franchise is historically in the top 10 of the league. Since 2013, the Steelers are 29-15 in the most critical month of the NFL season schedule.
They return to Acrisure (or Heinz Field as Kenny Pickett and many fans still call it) Sunday to take on Kyler Murray and the 2-10 Arizona Cardinals. This game should be where the Steelers destroy the Cardinals and leave them licking their wounds.
But they won’t. It’ll be another close one with fans sweating it out until the end.
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Patrick Peterson says he doesn’t know why all these wins are so close but they find a way to win.
Once again on Sunday, the Pittsburgh Steelers battled back and held off their opponent for another thrilling win. This week it was the Green Bay Packers, who had a chance to win on the final game before a timely interception by safety Damontae Kazee sealed the deal.
Another cornerback who made some big plays was Patrick Peterson. Peterson had a huge pass deflection late in the game that led to an interception as well as a massive special teams play when he blocked an extra point.
After the game, Peterson was brutally honest when asked about why these wins keep coming down to the final minutes.
“That’s a good question,” Peterson said. “I have no idea, but we find ways to win ballgames.”
Patrick Peterson on why every Steelers win has to be so hard and go down to the wire pic.twitter.com/IY7O9iUCJt
— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) November 12, 2023
Sunday’s win improves the Steelers to 6-3 on the season. Pittsburgh has been outgained in every game this season, which is unheard of for a team three games over .500.
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Patrick Peterson has struggled at cornerback but seems to be transitioning to safety.
On Sunday, the Pittsburgh Steelers took on the Los Angeles Rams and we saw cornerback Patrick Peterson play a multitude of roles for the Steelers secondary. He wasn’t particularly great at any of them but I digress.
On Tuesday, during his Tuesday press conference, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin talked about Peterson and made a rather bold comparison when he said Peterson is essentially Cam Sutton.
We understand what Tomlin was saying and yes, Peterson is moving around the formation. But in terms of whether or not Peterson has replaced Sutton’s talent at those spots, the answer is absolutely not.
Not putting more effort into keeping Sutton is the roster move that is haunting the Steelers the most right now. The secondary is in disarray with Peterson and Levi Wallace both struggling and neither strong safety on the roster brings much to the party opposite Minkah Fitzpatrick. Peterson provides a ton in terms of experience, mentoring and leadership but what the team needs now is production.
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Patrick Peterson hasn’t been the player he was in Minnesota last season.
Despite an excellent game against the Las Vegas Raiders, cornerback Patrick Peterson hasn’t given the Pittsburgh Steelers secondary what they need.
Through six games, Peterson’s allowed 19 receptions on 33 targets, 15 first downs and four touchdowns. He’s logged just one through six games after tying for second in interceptions in 2022.
In his Tuesday press conference, Mike Tomlin addressed moving Peterson around, a primary reason he was brought to Pittsburgh in free agency.
“That’s why we brought Pat here. He’s a veteran player, he’s smart. If you remember, we moved Cam Sutton around a lot. Essentially, he is Cam Sutton. Position flexibility was an attractive component to the acquisition of him.”
According to Pro Football Focus advanced stats, Peterson has lined up in zone 60 percent, in man 39 percent and press 22 percent. Tomlin hinted at Peterson playing some safety this season, but he’s only seen 11 looks there and 86 at slot corner. He’s usually lined up over or outside the right wide receiver (298 snaps).
Perhaps Peterson’s best quality has been behind the scenes. He’s been a great mentor for Joey Porter Jr., the future of Pittsburgh’s secondary.
According to Over the Cap, Peterson is owed a $3.85 roster bonus in March with a total cap number of $9.775 (3.8 percent of the cap). Should he be released after the season, $2.925 dead money will be on the books, but the team would save $6.85 million.
It’s not just Peterson that’s the problem. The entire Steelers secondary has been a major disappointment in 2023. The 29th-ranked unit has allowed a 63.5 completion percentage and 12.3 yards per completion to start the season.
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Here are some things that stood out from the Steelers snap counts against the Rams.
On Sunday, the Pittsburgh Steelers were the comeback kids once again, using a strong second half to put together a big 24-17 comeback win over the Los Angeles Rams. Now that we’ve had a chance to go over our charting of the Steelers snaps we wanted to share some surprises.
