The Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2020 season is now in the books, and it ended in spectacular fashion—though the wrong kind of spectacular—in a dismal postseason defeat at the hands of the Cleveland Browns, sending them into an early offseason mode after going 12-4 in the regular season and winning the AFC North for the first time in three years.
After setting a franchise record by opening the year on an 11-game winning streak, they followed that up by losing three games in a row, going 1-4 in the final five games, with only a 17-point comeback staving off a five-game slide. But all the issues they had in the regular season showed up in the postseason that resulted in their early exit.
The only thing facing them now as they head into 2021 is more questions, and right now, they lack answers. What will Ben Roethlisberger do, and what will they do with him? What will the salary cap look like? How many free agents are they going to lose? Who could they possibly afford to retain? Who might they part ways with—not just on the roster, but also on the coaching staff?
These are the sorts of questions among many others that we have been exploring on a daily basis and will continue to do so. Football has become a year-round pastime and there is always a question to be asked, though there is rarely a concrete answer, as I’ve learned in my years of doing this.
Question: Will Trevor Williams make the Steelers’ 53-man roster?
This is a stunningly early time to ask this sort of question, but it’s never too early. After the Steelers parted with two of their top three cornerbacks from last season, and are left with just one who has extensive starting experience, eyes have begun to turn to Trevor Williams, who literally spent just days with the team.
Having previously been a young starter with the Chargers several years ago, Williams has become a journeyman in recent seasons. He was signed to the Steelers’ practice squad in January, and needless to say, they didn’t last long in the playoffs.
He does have experience playing both outside and inside, and is certainly more game-ready than either Justin Layne or James Pierre, both of whom have yet to display the traits that would indicate that they could make effective slot defenders.
The Penn St. alum has hardly logged 60 combined snaps on defense and special teams over the past two seasons across four games, which is obviously not a good sign after having logged about 1800 defensive snaps and over 300 special teams snaps in his first three seasons.
Injuries, however, have had a lot to do with that, and he has had multiple stints on the Reserve/Injured List, including last season when he spent time there while with the Eagles, after which he was let go. If he can be healthy, he certainly looks like an employable defensive back.
