Since losing Mike Hilton after the 2020 season, the Pittsburgh Steelers have struggled to find a long-term option at slot corner. Perhaps the best man to replace Hilton is…Mike Hilton. A pending free agent, he sent out this Monday tweet that implied he’ll officially hit the market once the new league year begins next week.
“New opportunities always present themselves,” he tweeted with a praying hands emoji.
That certainly isn’t an official goodbye or indication of his future status, and he wouldn’t be the first player to have his tweet misinterpreted. But it’s logical to think that’s a quasi-goodbye to the Bengals in search of a fresh start. A return to Pittsburgh could be a soft landing.
Hilton’s career was molded in Pittsburgh. Undrafted out of Ole Miss and bouncing around the NFL early in his career, he signed with the Steelers in 2016 but gained buzz during 2017. With impressive spring and summer workouts, he easily made the 53-man roster and soon replaced William Gay as the team’s slot corner. In 2017, he recorded 10 tackles for a loss and four sacks, including a three-sack performance on Christmas Day against the Houston Texans.
In four years with the Steelers, Hilton recorded well over 200 tackles with 9.5 sacks and seven interceptions. He was regarded as one of the NFL’s top run-stopping and blitzing corners with acceptable coverage skills.
Turning 31 days before free agency, the Bengals could be moving on as they look to get younger and invest in keeping their core of WRs Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, along with DE Trey Hendrickson, making it harder to spent on players like Mike Hilton.
It’s fair to wonder the worth of paying an older corner like Hilton, but he still showed the ability to come downhill and play the run. In 2024, he tied a career-high with 12 tackles for a loss and notched 73 tackles. In 2023, he picked up a pair of sacks for the Bengals. His ability to coverage is questionable after struggling down the stretch for a Bengals’ defense that proved to be a weak link in a disappointing season.
Pittsburgh has a need at slot corner. Undrafted rookie Beanie Bishop Jr. flashed ball skills but shouldn’t be handed the job in 2025, while Cam Sutton was a disaster and isn’t expected to return. Given the Steelers’ record sub-package rate and their wilting defense, high on a list of priorities to fix, adding Hilton would easily give them their best blitzing and run-stopping nickel option on the roster.
He isn’t the only slot corner to consider. The Las Vegas Raiders’ Nate Hobbs has a great case to come to Pittsburgh. Bigger and younger, he’s also connected to new Steelers’ DBs Coach Gerald Alexander who spent 2024 coaching safeties in Las Vegas. There’s also the Dallas Cowboys’ Jourdan Lewis, though the team is reportedly making an effort to re-sign him. The NFL draft will also offer plenty of options from top-round names like Texas’ Jahdae Barron to later round possibilities like Western Kentucky’s Upton Stout, Oregon’s Jabbar Muhammad and UCF’s Mac McWilliams.
