UPDATE (4:03 PM): The Pittsburgh Steelers have officially signed veteran CB Anthony Averett. It’s a one-year contract.
Our original story is below.
After a successful tryout at the team’s rookie minicamp, the Pittsburgh Steelers have signed veteran CB Anthony Averett. Pro Football Talk reported the news first. Averett’s agent told PFT that it’s a one-year deal, although financial terms were not disclosed.
Averett is an experienced cornerback who spent time with both the San Francisco 49ers and Detroit Lions last season, although he did not see the field at all in 2023. He played for the Baltimore Ravens from 2018-2021 and spent 2022 with the Las Vegas Raiders. His time with the Ravens should make him very familiar with the AFC North brand of football, and now he’ll play on the other side of the rivalry.
Averett talked to reporters during minicamp yesterday about how he didn’t expect to be in that position, but he clearly took advantage of it and now earns himself a contract with the Steelers.
For his career, Averett has 114 tackles, three interceptions and 23 passes defensed in 51 games and 27 starts. He profiles as another option to work on the outside, as he only has 139 career snaps in the slot. The Steelers don’t have a lot of reliable options on the outside behind Joey Porter Jr. and Donte Jackson. Before bringing in Averett they were looking to rely on an unproven trio of Cory Trice Jr., Darius Rush and Ryan Watts.
Slot corner remains a need unless the Steelers really like what they see out of undrafted rookie Beanie Bishop Jr., but with plenty of time between now and Week 1, the team clearly isn’t in a rush to address the position.
Averett was a fourth-round pick by the Ravens in the 2018 NFL Draft out of Alabama. His best season came in 2021 when he started all 14 games he played in and had all three of his career interceptions, as well as 11 passes defensed. He also had 54 total tackles that season, which ended up being his last in Baltimore.
He has a pretty clear path to playing time in Pittsburgh as it stands right now, and Averett can also be a mentor to some of the younger cornerbacks on the roster given his experience in the league. The team now has two open roster spots remaining as it continues with OTAs and look ahead to training camp in July.
