Now that the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2023 season is getting underway after the team finished above .500 but failing to make the postseason last year, we turn our attention to the next chapter of Steelers football and everything that entails. One thing that it means is that some stock evaluations are going to start taking on more specific contexts as we get into the season, reflecting more immediate plusses and minus rather than trends over long periods. The nature of the evaluation, whether short-term or long-term, will be noted in the reasoning section below.
Player: CB Anthony Brown
Stock Value: Purchased
Reasoning: Another experienced veteran addition to the practice squad, CB Anthony Brown brings six years of playing experience with him and nearly 5,000 defensive snaps. He was an every-down player when healthy last season for the Dallas Cowboys and could potentially find his way on the 53-man roster at some point this year.
While the Steelers are already carrying 11 defensive backs on the roster, including seven who are playing either outside or in the slot for them, it wouldn’t be surprising if some changes were made over the course of time. And it wouldn’t be surprising if Anthony Brown were a part of that change.
Now, the 29-year-old isn’t going to convince anybody that he is the second coming of Rod Woodson, but he is a player who has talent. He tore his Achilles tendon late last season and obviously took some time to heal from that, so he never even signed with a team before now.
This is truly a situation in which we have a player who could work his way up. It’s not uncommon today for teams to sign veterans to the practice squad initially that they intend to be on their 53-man roster eventually. And when you’re dealing with a player coming off an injury who wasn’t in a camp and needs to get in football shape, it makes all the more sense.
But even if that never happens, having a player of Brown’s experience on the practice squad is an awfully good insurance policy. The Steelers have been thrust into undesirable circumstances due to injury or illness in the past when they had to call up players from the practice squad to participate. Remember Josh Victorian?
Imagine being able to elevate Brown for a couple of games this year because a couple of cornerbacks might be down. That’s a luxury a lot of teams don’t have. And that’s assuming that he actually stays on the practice squad.
For all we know, the Steelers paid him extra to sign with their practice squad. There is a minimum salary, but no maximum. And it wouldn’t be surprising if, as we get deeper into the season, another team wants to try and sign him to their roster if they are confident he has gotten healthy and into football shape.
