Now that it appears as though the Pittsburgh Steelers have lost cornerback Senquez Golson for an extended amount of time, and perhaps even the entire 2016 season, to a Lisfranc injury, the team needs to find a replacement starting slot cornerback. After Golson went down injured Monday, rookie safety Sean Davis immediately took his place in the first-team defense and for now, that looks like the plan moving forward.
During a Wednesday morning interview with the media at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, veteran cornerback William Gay said Davis will stay as the team’s starting slot cornerback and that there are currently no plans for him to move inside, according to Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Twitter.
Gay went on to say that he had worked with Golson over the offseason and that as a result of his injury the team is losing a true nickel and an asset.
“It happened, yeah it sucks, but at the same time I told him, ‘You’ve got a lot of football left in you. You ain’t 31 and getting injured,'” Gay said.
Gay was later asked if he considers the loss of Golson a setback for the team.
“We’ve got a lot of guys that are improving and a lot of guys that are willing to put everything on the line, so I wouldn’t use the word setback,” Gay said, in a video posted by Rob Rossi of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
So what are Gay’s first impressions of Davis, the team’s second-round draft out of Maryland?
“He’s a rookie, so he’s learning and that’s what I like,” said Gay.
Steelers defensive backs coach Carnell Lake also confirmed Gay’s comments as according to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com, he said the defense is moving on with Davis getting extended look as the team’s starting nickel corner.
During a Tuesday night radio interview, Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert said the team will first look internally for a replacement for Golson. It’s quite obvious at this point that Davis will be given every opportunity to win the starting slot cornerback job during the rest of training camp and the preseason. If he can’t win the job, and the team is still unwilling to move Gay inside like they did at times last season, the team might be watching the final round of cut downs later this summer for a temporary replacement.
