We are now at a point during the offseason in which we find ourselves looking at training camp just around the corner for the Pittsburgh Steelers and the rest of the league, and a lot has changed for them over the course of the past several months. They have lost a number of players in free agency, through releases, and retirements. But they have also brought in a number of new faces to replace them.
We all know that roster turnover is an ever-present reality for today’s rosters, and it seems that over the course of the past half-decade or so even the Steelers have proven to be as susceptible to the annual shakeup as anybody. With that in mind, we should take the time to get to know some of the new faces with training camp soon to be here.
The next new face open for discussion is going to be free agent acquisition Coty Sensabaugh, a very rare cornerback addition that they paid more than a minimum salary for. Not that they paid a premium for his services—and he is not guaranteed to make the 53-man roster at this point by any means—but he was not a bargain bin addition, either.
The Steelers were actually kicking the tires on the cornerback market this year, reportedly showing serious interest in even a couple of the top-tier free agents. They had Davon House in the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex, in fact, when he ended up signing a contract with the Packers. That probably didn’t feel very good.
But it wasn’t long after that that they brought in Sensabaugh and actually got him to sign with the team that he came to visit. He proved to be their lone addition to the cornerback position in free agency, but they did add two more in the draft.
And that does complicate his path to the 53-man roster, of course. While third-round pick Cameron Sutton is probably very nearly a 100 percent lock, Brian Allen, the fifth-round draft pick, is definitely on the bubble and is going to have to earn that roster spot with a really good camp and excellence on special teams.
A one-time starter, Sensabaugh signed a fairly lucrative contract in free agency last year, but things clearly did not work out, as he was demoted after a couple of games and sooner after that ended up getting released.
The Giants ended up picking him up and he gradually carved out a role in their secondary, playing some snaps in the nickel by the end of the season out of the slot. His versatility to play both inside and outside is obviously going to work in his favor.
Sensabaugh’s projection can really be anywhere from the starting slot cornerback to missing the roster entirely, and really, neither one would be greatly surprising. It will be a really important training camp not just for him, but for the entire cornerback position.
