The Pittsburgh Steelers appear to have their top cornerback of the future in Joey Porter Jr. However, they need a corner opposite him with Patrick Peterson not getting any younger — and not a lock to be on the roster next season — and Levi Wallace scheduled to hit free agency. Neither showed an ability to handle outside corner duties at a high level in 2023, either. Could veteran CB Stephon Gilmore be a candidate to fill that role opposite Porter?
Jared Dubin of CBSSports.com matched up key free agents with AFC teams on Thursday, and he sees a fit between Pittsburgh and Gilmore.
“Pittsburgh has had a lot of success with mid-to-late career veteran corners coming in and getting a few more years’ worth of solid play out of them,” Dubin writes. “Gilmore had another strong year in Dallas last season but with a new scheme and a lot of balls up in the air there, some other team could swoop in and make a play for him.”
While Peterson may not have played up to the level he has shown throughout his career in 2023, his versatility was key to helping the Steelers navigate a rash of injuries at the safety position. The eight-time Pro Bowler still recorded two picks and 11 passes knocked away along with 42 total tackles last season. While everyone would have loved more out of Peterson, he was still integral to keeping the defense together, which made him a successful free-agent addition.
The Steelers also had success bringing after signing Joe Haden back in 2017. He turned 28 ahead of that season and played with Pittsburgh through 2021. In five seasons with the Steelers, he had 10 interceptions (one returned for a touchdown), 54 passes defended, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, 238 total tackles, 11 tackles for a loss, and one sack. No question that Haden was a quality free-agent pickup for a cornerback who was entering his eighth season in the league.
So there is definitely precedence for the Steelers targeting veteran corners like Gilmore. The 10th overall pick by the Buffalo Bills in the 2012 NFL Draft, Gilmore has played 165 games in his 12 NFL seasons. He will turn 34 in September, but he started all 17 games last season for the Cowboys. He had two interceptions, 13 passes defended, one forced fumble, and 68 total tackles.
For his career, Gilmore has 31 interceptions (two returned for touchdowns), 140 passes knocked down, seven forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, 561 total tackles, eight tackles for a loss, and one sack. He also has an interception in every season he’s been in the league and picked off two passes in each of the last three seasons.
Gilmore would not be the long-term answer opposite Porter. However, he would be a quality addition for 2024 and potentially even 2025 while the Steelers look for a future starter. We already know the Steelers have been doing their homework on the cornerbacks in the upcoming draft. We also know that the Steelers want to bring rookies along slowly like they did with Porter last year. So, Stephon Gilmore could be a good fit as a veteran to hold down the fort while waiting for one of those rookies to develop.
