While the Pittsburgh Steelers largely had a good night on Friday in their 27-17 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the preseason opener, one player who struggled was CB James Pierre. Teryl Austin was asked about Pierre’s performance on Sunday.
“A little bit up and down. James is a tough, tough kid. Plays hard. I thought he left some plays out there that he could’ve made. So we’ll just continue to work with him,” Austin said today via Steelers.com. “But I think he’s still in a position where he brings some value to the team, but we just gotta figure out where he fits. Is he the fourth corner or is he the fifth corner/special teams guy? We don’t know that yet. We’ll just kind of let it play out.”
Pierre especially struggled in coverage on Wednesday, with a poor 39.6 PFF coverage grade. He was credited with allowing six catches on six targets for 92 yards and a touchdown, which obviously isn’t ideal. Pierre’s roster spot was seemingly helped by the season-ending knee injury to Cory Trice Jr., but his play on Friday isn’t going to do him any favors. With guys like Luq Barcoo and Madre Harper making plays, Pierre’s spot certainly isn’t a lock.
He’s guaranteed to be behind Patrick Peterson, Levi Wallace and Joey Porter Jr. on the outside, and he isn’t really a slot-capable corner. His best bet is going to be the fourth outside corner. But, as Austin said, he’s someone who can make his bread on special teams this season if he can’t win the fourth corner job.
He played 45 percent of Pittsburgh’s special teams snaps last year after playing 50 percent in 2021, so he’s got some experience there. On top of that, he’s a reliable tackler. He had nine tackles against Tampa Bay, and he has 86 in his NFL career. If he continues to struggle in coverage, he’s going to have to really excel at special teams if he wants to continue his career in Pittsburgh.
Pierre’s going to have to show that he can do more in Pittsburgh’s next two preseason games, against the Buffalo Bills and Atlanta Falcons. While he has some decent experience now, it’ll mean nothing if he continues to get outshined by guys like Harper and Barcoo, who’s impressed throughout camp. If Pierre gets picked on again by the opposing quarterbacks, then he may not end up wearing the Black and Gold in 2023.
