Darius Slay is still holding off Father Time. But at 34 years old and signed to a one-year deal, odds are good the Pittsburgh Steelers will be looking for cornerback help this time next offseason. Appearing on the #1 Cochran Sports Show Sunday night, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette beat writer Brian Batko wishes the team would’ve looked beyond 2024 instead.
“I think from the Steelers perspective, they’re thinking maybe this guy’s the final piece, and we can finally become that top three or even number one-ranked defense that we so badly wanna be,” Batko told show host Bob Pompeani. “I would’ve gone with someone who’s more of a mid-twenties; maybe he is a first or second-rounder who didn’t work out with his first team.
“Let that guy roll the ball out, compete with Corey Trice and now you’re sort of building something for the future opposite Joey Porter Jr.”
Slay inked a one-year, $10 million contract that’s fully guaranteed. Our film room showed he can still play at a high level and graded out well to help the Eagles end the year hoisting a Lombardi. There’s no question his veteran presence was attractive to an otherwise young cornerback room with a third-year Porter and Trice (who missed his entire rookie year) and a second-year slot corner in Beanie Bishop Jr.
But even Darius Slay has admitted that 2025 could be his last year. Cornerbacks still playing at 35 are rare. Per Pro Football Reference/Stathead, only a couple of names qualify: Jonathan Joseph in 2020, Tramon Williams in 2018, and Brent Grimes in the same year.
Adding a top free-agent corner would’ve cost Pittsburgh double. Carlton Davis, D.J. Reed, Paulson Adebo, Byron Murphy, and Charvarius Ward went off the board for big money. Presumably, the Steelers had little interest in spending top dollar there, knowing there was a quarterback to pay and after making WR DK Metcalf one of the NFL’s highest-paid wide receivers. But Batko argues for a cheaper option. A revival project. He doesn’t mention names, but Jeff Okudah and Noah Igbinoghene seem to fit. They would’ve come with their own issues, not putting on the quality tape of Darius Slay without his veteran presence.
Free agent decisions always weigh pros and cons. Rarely is there a perfect player who checks every box, and if there is, teams pay through the nose for them. And it’s important to note that the Steelers double-dipped at cornerback with a player more in line with Batko’s wants, inking 27-year-old Brandin Echols as top depth. Perhaps the team’s gambit is Trice proving his health and turning to him in 2026, a talented player the few times he’s been on the field.
