Player: CB Josiah Scott
Stock Value: Up
Reasoning: Josiah Scott has a golden opportunity in the wake of Cameron Sutton’s suspension. With Sutton set to miss eight games, Scott can claim the starting slot cornerback job. By the time Sutton returns, he can make it his own, but first, he has to earn it.
The Steelers signing Cameron Sutton could prove the best thing that happened to Josiah Scott, but that is on him. An NFL veteran, Scott is trying to resurrect his career, and he has the opportunity with the Steelers.
By signing Sutton knowing that he would face a suspension, the Steelers are quite possibly shielding themselves from making a more significant and more permanent move. In doing so, they afford players like Scott the opportunity to audition for the role.
The NFL recently announced an eight-game suspension for Sutton, so the Steelers have an opening. They need somebody to play for at least the first eight games of the season, with Scott a leading candidate. If he can claim the job, he can make it his own by the time Sutton returns.
A 2020 fourth-round pick of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Scott has almost 600 career NFL snaps under his belt. Most of them came during the 2022 season with the Philadelphia Eagles, and he also plays on special teams. He spent most of the 2023 season on the practice squad, however.
With their presumptive starting slot cornerback on the shelf for half the season, the Steelers only need a bridge guy. Josiah Scott has been among the players taking the most slot reps throughout the offseason and has the most experience.
If he can win the job, open the season as the starter, and play well, he can potentially hold onto that job even after Sutton returns from his suspension. There is nothing obliging the Steelers to turn the job over to Sutton when he comes back. Indeed, they should be hoping that whoever replaces Sutton makes him irrelevant by the middle of the year.
As the season progresses, Steelers players’ stocks rise and fall. The nature of the evaluation differs with the time of year, with in-season considerations being more often short-term. Considerations in the offseason often have broader implications, particularly when players lose their jobs, or the team signs someone. This time of year is full of transactions, whether minor or major.
A bad game, a new contract, an injury, a promotion—any number of things affect a player’s value. Think of it as a stock on the market, based on speculation. You’ll feel better about a player after a good game, or worse after a bad one. Some stock updates are minor, while others are likely to be quite drastic, so bear in mind the degree. I’ll do my best to explain the nature of that in the reasoning section of each column.
