Steelers corner Cam Sutton’s suspension shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone. The question was less “if” and more “how long,” the league landing on eight games. Sutton won’t appeal, meaning the ruling will stick, and he won’t play for the Pittsburgh Steelers until Week 10 following the club’s Week 9 bye.
Now that it’s official, the Steelers return to square one. Led by an obvious question.
Who in the world is the Steelers’ slot corner?
That was the open-ended question prior to Sutton’s signing. Until he returns, the Steelers must find someone, or multiple players, to fill the void. Last year’s duo of Chandon Sullivan and Patrick Peterson remain free agents. Perhaps the team will reconsider. But they’ll likely begin with who is already on the roster.
We can divide the option into two buckets: the young guns and the veterans. The youngsters include undrafted rookie Beanie Bishop Jr. and Thomas Graham Jr., and the veterans include Josiah Scott and Grayland Arnold.
Bishop will receive the most buzz this summer. An All-American in 2023, he played plenty of outside corner at West Virginia but lacked size, so he should kick to the slot. Our scouting report gave him a draftable grade but with a mixed conclusion:
“Beanie Bishop Jr. was a very fun but frustrating player to watch on film. He has so many flashes of incredible awareness, competitiveness, and playmaking ability. Equally, though, he’ll have the head-scratching coverage situations where he gets beat deep and gives up big plays more than you’d think for a guy with his instincts.”
Our report praised his ball production, breaking up 20 passes in 2023 and picking off four others, along with tenacity stopping the run. Negatively, he was over-aggressive, penalized too often, and consistently burned downfield. Despite his warts and UDFA status, he figures to be given a real shot to win the job.
Graham will have a tougher path. Older and drafted in 2021, he brings minor NFL experience but didn’t play a snap last year. Defensive backs coach Grady Brown mentioned Graham received increased reps prior to Sutton’s signing. However, given that Sutton should be eligible to practice this preseason, Graham’s window for snaps is small.
Scott spent part of last season on the Steelers’ practice squad. A former Philadelphia Eagle, he served as the team’s slot corner throughout 2022. Appearing in 16 games and starting four, he was effective with two interceptions and two tackles for a loss. Playing time in 2023 was harder to come by, playing in just four games and seeing 17 total defensive snaps.
Arnold was signed around the same time as Sutton. A name Pittsburgh pursued in 2023, Arnold primarily played in the slot with the Houston Texans. Production wasn’t anything to fall in love with, 18 tackles across eight games, but he easily played more snaps last season than anyone else on the list. That matters.
Ideally, the Steelers settle on one name of the four. But unless someone surges and emerges, the team could fall back on what they’ve been doing. A committee approach of two slot corners. One is for run-downs, and the other for pass-downs. That’s how Arthur Maulet and Cam Sutton functioned in 2022 and how Sullivan and Peterson co-existed in 2023 (until injuries forced Peterson to play safety). Perhaps Bishop becomes the run down man, playing on first and second downs, while Scott plays on passing downs. Or some combination of the groups.
Pittsburgh will use this summer to evaluate the group. They should rotate each day as they did to open up last year’s camp. The first player to take slot snaps a year ago was Duke Dawson. At the time, Mike Tomlin warned to pay little mind to the camp “depth chart” and that the process would play itself out. Dawson was injured mid-camp and waived. All these names should get a chance. If Pittsburgh likes what they see, they’ll choose the winners. If not, they could look externally for a Peterson, a Sullivan, or some name who becomes available for a trade or at cutdowns.
Since losing Mike Hilton, the Steelers have yet to find a good answer in the slot. Each summer has brought the same questions, messiness, and uncertainty. Until Pittsburgh makes an effort to make meaningful investments in the corner position, they’ll keep going down this foggy road.
