Who will be the Steelers’ opening-day slot defender?
We know that the Steelers will not have Cameron Sutton for the first eight games of the season. The NFL already announced his suspension, and he is not appealing, so we won’t see him until late October. The question that remains is who fills in the gap while he is out of commission.
Now, the Steelers surely knew that Sutton would face some type of suspension. Perhaps they didn’t anticipate eight games, but either way, they knew they would need someone else. They have Patrick Peterson in their proverbial back pocket, but as of yet, they haven’t dialed his number.
The in-house options include veteran Josiah Scott and rookie Beanie Bishop Jr. as the top candidates. There are also veterans Thomas Graham Jr. and potentially Anthony Averett, as well as second-year Darius Rush. Even Ryan Watts or Damontae Kazee could potentially factor into the equation by September. The Steelers have time to figure this out, but that time will go quickly.
They will have to know relatively early on in camp how the competition for the role is heading before making a decision. If they don’t feel comfortable with some combination of the above names in the first couple weeks, they’ll look elsewhere. Peterson and Chandon Sullivan, who both played for the Steelers last year, are some obvious possibilities.
Such alternatives won’t make Steelers fans happy, but we’re not talking about fan service here. We’re talking about what the Steelers might actually do, and reportedly they left the door open for Peterson. In this scenario, they will have tried to move on, but felt they needed the safety net.
The Steelers have had this issue before after losing Mike Hilton in free agency. They have attempted to use a variety of looks to fill in the gaps, but that has never seemed to work as hoped. Ideally, they can home in on one player who can man the slot until Cameron Sutton returns. And perhaps even after Sutton returns, having proven that he is good enough to take over the job. That is the hope—not being desperate for him to come back once he is available because the alternatives worked.
The Steelers’ 2024 season is approaching, following another disappointing year that culminated in a playoff loss. The only change-up in the annual formula lately is whether they miss the playoffs altogether. They have had a long offseason since the Buffalo Bills stamped them out of their misery back in January.
The biggest question hanging over the team is the quarterback question. Does Russell Wilson make them a Super Bowl-caliber team, or are they wasting a year? How will the team continue to address the depth chart?
The Steelers are past free agency and the draft and their roster for the 2024 season is coming into focus. They made numerous moves through signings and trade—and release. More than usual, they seemed comfortable creating holes, confident they can fill them. Now that we have so many pieces of the puzzle, however, we merely have a new set of questions to ask.
