Trenton Thompson is the latest in a long list of examples of why no one should be called just a “camp body.” That’s probably what Thompson was thought of when he signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers midway through training camp. Summer depth after the team’s secondary was hammered by injuries, missing Damontae Kazee, Minkah Fitzpatrick (who dealt with a personal matter), Keanu Neal, and CB Cory Trice Jr., who was lost for the season to a torn ACL.
Thompson made the most of his chance. He had a solid summer with the team, impressing with his hit power and his ball skills, and though he was part of the Steelers’ final cutdowns as they trimmed their roster to 53, the team signed him back to the practice squad.
After biding his time the first two months of the season, Thompson has worked his way up the ladder. With in-season injuries to Fitzpatrick and Neal, Thompson has gone from pure practice squader to elevated player to being signed to the active roster. And in last Sunday’s win over the Cincinnati Bengals, he became more than a player. He became a starter. Again, Thompson took advantage of the chance, picking off QB Jake Browning in the second half to turn the tide in Pittsburgh’s favor.
Speaking to reporters Thursday, DC Teryl Austin noticed from the moment Thompson signed the team had something in him.
“I remember he got off the bus, he came in, and we had a full padded practice,” Austin said via a team-provided transcript. “I think the first play he made was on a slant. He made a really nice tackle coming on that, and our guys go, ‘Oh, that’s all right. Who is this guy?’ Then he just continued to show as camp went on, and it was good.”
Our summer evaluation was similar. In our August grades of the 90-man roster, we gave him a B- mark and highlighted the flashes in his game.
“He’s aggressive and flies around the field. A ‘whoa, not sic ’em’ type of player, to borrow the Mike Tomlin phrase. Thompson brings hit power and had a couple big collisions throughout camp and during preseason action.
He can be overaggressive and reckless, which puts him out of position. Thompson had a tendency to miss tackles and take poor angles. But he’s a hair-on-fire player with playmaking skills too, picking off a pass in the preseason from Robber coverage and showed an overall knack for playing the football in the air. He’s someone who caught Mike Tomlin’s eye and should stick on the practice squad.”
Thompson logged his first Steelers snaps in Week 1o against the Green Bay Packers. Replacing an injured Neal mid-game, he picked up the seven final defensive snaps of the game as the Steelers’ defense closed out the win. Though he didn’t start the following week against Pittsburgh (the Steelers used a three corner, one safety grouping on the initial snap), he played 58 defensive snaps and finished with six tackles. And he picked up his first official start against the Bengals, flying around to the ball and making a splash play.
After logging two full practices, it appears FS Minkah Fitzpatrick will return this weekend against the Arizona Cardinals. It’s a massive boost to the Steelers’ secondary and the defense will have all its stars on the field for the first time since Week One. But it begs the question – who will start opposite of Fitzpatrick at strong safety? Kazee is the more experienced and trusted player. He is also a free safety who doesn’t spend much time in the box. Thompson is bigger and more of a strong safety type, meaning he may get the nod. But Austin is playing at least a little coy.
“We’ll see about that. I think he has,” he said when asked if there would continue to be a role for Thompson. “He’s really — I think the last two weeks, talk about a guy, for some people say come out of nowhere, but he was given his opportunity, and I think he thrived in that opportunity. If he’s a good football player and he can continue to help us, we need to find a place for him.”
Austin’s been around the coaching block enough not to outright say anything but “I think he has” is as close as confirmation as you’ll get from him. Thompson’s interception met the challenge issues by Mike Tomlin, who said if he picked off a pass that Tomlin would go to bat for him. If he sticks to his word, Thompson will continue to play. And perhaps continue to start.
