Going into the 2023 season, one of the big questions surrounding the Pittsburgh Steelers was what their answer to the slot cornerback position would be. After losing CB Cameron Sutton in free agency to the Detroit Lions and releasing Arthur Maulet, Pittsburgh was looking at a completely remade group with DB Elijah Riley and CBs Chandon Sullivan and Duke Dawson battling for the job.
Dawson got hurt in the preseason and waived from the team’s injured reserve with an injury settlement, leaving Riley and Sullivan fighting for the job. However, both defensive backs proved their worth in preseason action, officially making the initial 53-man roster yesterday.
Riley spoke with the media today and said that he and Sullivan called each other when they got the news, celebrating that both of them got a place on Pittsburgh’s 53-man roster.
“We were talking a little bit the other day, and then yesterday after four ‘o clock, [Sullivan] called me up and was like ‘Congrats bro,’ and I was like ‘Oh that’s dope, congrats to you too,’” Riley said on video from the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review’s Chris Adamski’s Twitter page. “First time making the active [53], so it’s something I’m excited about.”
Riley signed as an undrafted free agent out of Army with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2020, competing in training camp but failing to make the initial 53. He spent time on their practice squad and was elevated for a couple games during the season. Riley got waived by Philadelphia after 2021 training camp and was signed to the practice squad again, only to have the New York Jets poach him. He started seven games with the Jets in 2021 but was released near the end of the 2022 preseason. Pittsburgh added him to its practice squad last season, and he spent most of his time there but was elevated for four games in 2022.
As Riley mentioned, this was the first time in his NFL career that he made the 53-man roster outright. There was no release. There was no waiting in limbo. He got the call that he had made the roster. For Riley, that must be a surreal experience bouncing between three different teams the last few years trying to stick with an NFL team. His play in training camp and the preseason warranted a spot, and he most certainly earned it.
While Riley was ecstatic to make the roster, he was also joyful to see Sullivan make it too. The two share a strong bond as teammates despite having competed with one another for the starting slot job, let alone potentially a roster spot prior to them forcing Pittsburgh’s hand to keep both of them on the roster. With the reported recent addition of CB Desmond King, it will be interesting to see how Pittsburgh’s slot corner position shakes out and if one of them gets the boot with King coming into the building. For now, though, both Riley and Sullivan can celebrate that they both made the roster and get to share the field together for a while longer.
