The Pittsburgh Steelers created holes for themselves this offseason by dumping veteran starters like Allen Robinson II and Patrick Peterson in salary cap-saving moves, further exacerbating the matter with moves like trading Diontae Johnson and not re-signing their depth players.
Consequently, they have some significant holes to address moving forward—likely more than they can satisfy during the NFL draft. A starting right tackle, center, wide receiver, slot cornerback, and who knows what else, with four premium draft picks? Don’t hold your breath.
The Steelers will have little choice but to pursue other roster-building paths once the draft has concluded. Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette suggests some of those paths may cover familiar ground.
“The scenario that I always bring up is Patrick Peterson’s still out there”, he told Adam Bittner for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “He’s still unsigned, so, if the draft doesn’t unfold the way you want and you don’t get a corner, say, in the second round or even the third round, then maybe Patrick Peterson is your best option to come back”.
After losing Cameron Sutton in free agency, the Steelers signed Peterson to a two-year, $14 million deal last year. He completed the season as a starter, playing cornerback, slot, and safety during that time. Owed nearly $7 million for 2024, however, he found himself a street free agent by the start of the new league year.
While Peterson is no longer the player he once was, the Steelers’ depth currently consists of players who’ve never been. Behind Joey Porter Jr. and the newly acquired Donte Jackson are a pair of 2023 draft picks. They drafted Cory Trice Jr. in the seventh round, and he tore his ACL early in training camp. Darius Rush is on his third team since his fifth-round selection, and he played very sparingly after the Steelers picked him up in mid-October.
The Steelers already lost James Pierre in free agency, though Levi Wallace and Chandon Sullivan remain unsigned. Wallace and Sullivan played the third- and fourth-most cornerback snaps for the team last season behind Peterson and Porter.
If the Steelers fail to come away with a rookie cornerback they’re confident can play early in 2024, you can expect that they will pursue a veteran addition at some point. According to Peterson, the Steelers expressed an openness to re-signing him down the road when they let him go.
This is not the news many Steelers fans want to hear, but I’m sure the door is still open to Peterson depending on how the draft goes. Head coach Mike Tomlin said as much as well. They have done extensive homework on the cornerback position, though, with many pre-draft visits. Notable names on that list include Cooper De Jean, Nate Wiggins, Max Melton, and Andru Phillips.
The problem is they also have starting needs at tackle, center, and wide receiver, at the least. Can they manage to address all four positions by the end of the third round? Possibly, but doing so would require great planning and some luck—or, failing that, desperation. And knowing that Peterson remains an option after the draft, I don’t expect the Steelers will act desperately here.
