Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Desmond King II had his first practice with the team today after being signed as a free agent last week, and the cornerback talked about living his dream of finally playing for coach Mike Tomlin.
“It’s a dream come true. Always wanted to play for Mike and the city of Pittsburgh. It was always a good atmosphere to come here and play here,” King said via Jeff Hathhorn of 93.7 The Fan on Twitter.
King explained that he’s always wanted to play for Tomlin since he’s the type of coach who will be honest with his players.
“Somebody’s that’s going to keep it real. Coach is gonna tell you when you’re right or when you’re wrong, he’s gonna uplift you and at the same time he’s gonna tell you what you need to improve on,” he said.
He also elaborated on why he’s always felt Pittsburgh was the perfect fit for him.
“It’s the way how I play. Physical, fast, smart, go get the ball and I just wanna win,” King said. “And I think that’s the culture here.”
King adds a really nice veteran presence to the cornerback room, another former All-Pro alongside Patrick Peterson. It’s expected that King will see most of his playing time as a nickel cornerback, competing with Chandon Sullivan and Elijah Riley for reps, but he can move around the secondary.
His versatility is surely one of the things that made him attractive to the Steelers, as they’ve been looking for guys they can mix and match and move around the secondary. Last season, Cameron Sutton played a versatile role that the Steelers were likely going to turn to Peterson to fill. Now, King is another option as that type of player who will be able to rotate around the defense and help Pittsburgh give opposing offenses different looks.
The question now becomes if another corner will lose their job with the addition of King. Seven cornerbacks are a lot on the 53-man roster, especially because it’s a position where the Steelers are also deep on the practice squad. But King and Riley offer similar versatility and can also help out at safety, which is beneficial since Pittsburgh is lacking a true fourth safety on the roster.
If a roster crunch comes soon due to injury, the cornerback room may be affected. But that’s a problem for another day, and watching King be able to live his dream playing for the Steelers under Tomlin is going to be a lot of fun to watch this season. He’s a talented veteran who likely wouldn’t have been available if he hadn’t been on a rebuilding Texans team. Pittsburgh is lucky to have added him, and he’s going to be a key piece on the roster.
