With training camp starting up in less than a week, the Pittsburgh Steelers look to be in a good spot regarding their roster prior to the start of the 2023 season. The front office has done a lot of work to overhaul the group from a year ago, using free agency, the draft, and trades to acquire talent on both sides of the football to construct a playoff-contending roster.
However, one position that still appears to be up in the air for Pittsburgh with the preseason quickly approaching is slot cornerback. The team added free agent CB Chandon Sullivan on the final day of the 2023 NFL Draft as a veteran with starting experience in the slot, but his resume isn’t the strongest following a down 2022 campaign.
While Pittsburgh has mentioned the possibility of having fellow free agent acquisition Patrick Peterson factor into the slot as well, they should be closely watching this group and its performance in training camp to determine if making an outside addition would be the best course of action. We saw Pittsburgh use a similar process with the ILB position, watching their in-house options before deciding to trade for ILB Joe Schobert prior to the start of the 2021 season.
Alex Kay of Bleacher Report recently posted an article highlighting the most underrated free agents still available ahead of training camp getting underway. One of the names Kay listed was CB Bryce Callahan, a veteran slot CB who has missed time in recent seasons due to various injuries but has proven to be a quality slot option when on the field.
“He was a boon for the Bolts, starting 11 of the 15 games he was available for,” Kay said regarding Callahan. “He earned a decent 64.2 Pro Football Focus grade in those contests while besting or matching his previous career highs in interceptions (three)—one of which was returned for his first career score—tackles (47) and pass defenses (six).”
The Steelers have ties to Callahan as a college prospect coming out of Rice, hosting him for a pre-draft visit back in 2015. He came in for a visit the same day as Steven Nelson, a former Steelers CB who played several seasons with the club. While Callahan is 31 years old, Pittsburgh has shown a willingness to sign defensive free agents past the age-30 mark under Omar Khan, adding Peterson and OLB Markus Golden this offseason. Callahan is also a more proven player than Chandon Sullivan in the slot, having started 56 games in his NFL career with nine career INTs and 35 PBUs.
No one should expect Pittsburgh to sign Callahan tomorrow, but if Sullivan and Duke Dawson struggle early on in training camp and the first couple of preseason games, we could see the Steelers make a move to stabilize the slot corner position prior to the start of the regular season. Callahan may be a bit of a gamble when it comes to his injury history, but he is an experienced, productive defender that could slide right in as Pittsburgh’s starting slot CB come Week 1.
