The Pittsburgh Steelers have asked rookie safety Sean Davis to do quite a bit so far through the team’s first five games as he’s been asked to play in the slot as a cornerback in addition to his more natural position, safety. However, judging by the comments made by defensive coordinator Keith Butler on Thursday during his weekly interview with Missi Matthews, Davis will more than likely not be asked to be a two position player as often moving forward
“He needs to get a little bit better,” Butler said of Davis, the team’s second-round draft pick this year out of Maryland. “We probably need to tone it down for him a little bit in terms of what we’re asking him to do and let him simplify a little bit more and let him used to it again because he lost some time. And when young guys lose time it takes them a little while to get back.”
Davis missed some time in Week 4 because of a back injury that he suffered and while he failed to play in the game against the Kansas City Chiefs, he played extensively this past Sunday in the win over the New York Jets as a slot defender.
So, will it be hard for Davis to “tone it down” now being as he needs to know two positions?
“Yes and maybe were going to hopefully just put him in one position if we can,” Butler said when asked that very question. “And sometimes you have injuries and you can’t help it and we’ve had to do a couple of things with injuries. We’ve had and try to make adjustments and stuff like that and sometimes it’s hard for a young guy to pick up all of the stuff that were going to ask him to pick up. The little minutia of playing the position and then put him at another position and he’s got to learn all of the details of that too.”
The Steelers could get safety Robert Golden and cornerback Justin Gilbert back on the field this week and if that does indeed wind up happening, it will be interesting to see how Davis winds up being used in the team’s road game against the Miami Dolphins. Golden would likely start and Gilbert could see limited playing time as a fourth cornerback as well.
Butler did not say which one position Davis will focus on moving forward but being as he’s being groomed to be the team’s future starting safety, chances are good that will be it. We’ll just have to wait and see what happens Sunday against the Dolphins to find out if indeed that is the case.
