With the Steelers’ 2023 offseason underway following a disappointing season that came up just short of reaching the playoffs, it’s time to begin reloading, through the free agency process, through the draft, and perhaps even through trade.
This is now a young team on the offensive side of the ball, though one getting older on defense, and both sides could stand to be supplemented robustly, including in the trenches—either one. Changes have been made to the coaching staff, even if not all of the desired ones, as the roster continues to renew with the weeks ticking by.
These sorts of uncertainties are what I will look to address in our Buy or Sell series. In each installment, I will introduce a topic statement and weigh some of the arguments for either buying it (meaning that you agree with it or expect it to be true) or selling it (meaning you disagree with it or expect it to be false).
Topic Statement: Cory Trice Jr. will make James Pierre expendable.
Explanation: In a year in which the roster is deeper than it has usually been, the Steelers will struggle to carry extra defensive backs. It may be that they will have to come down to deciding between these two tall young cornerbacks as one of the final spots on the 53-man roster.
Buy:
Once a hopeful as a diamond in the rough as a college free agent out of Florida Atlantic, the expectations for James Pierre have fallen to earth over the past two years once exposed to the light of actual defensive playing time.
Indeed, the Steelers have kept signing and drafting cornerbacks, a powerful indication that he is destined for no better than a depth role. While his work on special teams continued to be significant last year, they’ve proven more than willing to part with special teamers lately.
Trice has a much higher upside defensively than Pierre and will likely be a good special teamer anyway. On top of that, the Steelers simply have enough boundary-only cornerbacks and are unlikely to keep more than six at the position in total. Chandon Sullivan will be one slot player, but the other will have to be at least versatile, or a slot guy, like Duke Dawson. Or they’ll find another safety who can play in the slot.
Sell:
Sometimes hard decisions have to be made, but you always want to lean on the side of retaining contributors. While Pierre hasn’t earned a regular role, let alone a starting role, he has improved when given the chance to play. And he still played over 250 defensive snaps last year, so it’s not as though he isn’t seeing the field, even if that can be chalked up to injury.
Then there’s the other side of the coin fans are currently reluctant to consider, which is the possibility that Trice may not actually be anything special and will simply lose out in a training camp battle. He had issues coming out of college beyond just medical concerns. He may look good in shorts but wait until NFL quarterbacks test him and then we’ll see if he can snag a veteran’s roster spot.
Or, you know, the Steelers find a way to carry both. Maybe they rely on the slot capability of their safeties like Damontae Kazee, Keanu Neal, and Tre Norwood and carry six cornerbacks, with only one slot-only guy. It’s not like Dawson or Madre Harper are must-keep players.
