Buy Or Sell: The Steelers should re-sign Levi Wallace to add cornerback depth before the draft.
Explanation: The Steelers are very thin at cornerback right now with Patrick Peterson, Levi Wallace, and Chandon Sullivan not under contract. James Pierre left in free agency, while they released Peterson, and the others are unsigned free agents. Right now, their depth consists of players like Darius Rush and Luq Barcoo and Cory Trice Jr.
Buy:
He struggled as a full-time starter last season, but as is frequently the case, rumors of his death have been greatly exaggerated. Levi Wallace is not, in fact, a horrible cornerback. And if the Steelers re-sign him, they are bringing him back as cheap depth. Doing so before the draft reduces the impulse to reach on the position.
That especially makes sense if we’re talking about late-round flyers, because they already have such players. Chances are anybody they draft late falls into the same territory as Cory Trice Jr. and Luc Barcoo. Adding a body just for the sake of adding a body is useless.
Wallace played much better on the whole after he started coming off the bench. He started the final three games of the season due to injury and he played well in coverage in that stretch. Issues he had in other areas weren’t present during his better 2022 season, suggesting it’s not a recurring problem.
Sell:
The Steelers are moving in a new direction in the secondary. If they wanted to bring Wallace back, they would have done so by now. Mike Tomlin and Teryl Austin and Grady Brown are still here, so they are familiar with what Wallace brings.
And they want to see what else they can find before circling back to him, more likely than not. See what the draft offers, and if they don’t fill the hole in their depth chart to their satisfaction, then go back to Wallace. Don’t do it the other way around.
While he may not have had as bad of a season as many want to believe, he still had a disappointing year. And the Steelers don’t want to be one snap away from him playing a major role on the defense again. At least, that seems to be the case based on the fact that he’s still unemployed.
With the Steelers’ 2023 season in the rearview mirror following a disappointing year that came up short in the playoffs once again, it’s time to start asking more questions. Questions about the team’s future in 2024 and beyond. Questions about The Standard.
The rookie class of a year ago was on the whole impressive, but they need to step up into staple starters in 2024. And they likely need a strong influx of talent in both free agency and in the 2024 NFL draft yet again. In addition to a revisitation of the coaching staff.
These sorts of uncertainties are what I will look to address in our Buy or Sell series. In each installment, I will introduce a topic statement and weigh some of the arguments for either buying it (meaning that you agree with it or expect it to be true) or selling it (meaning you disagree with it or expect it to be false).
