Steelers Free Agent Analysis: C.J. Henderson
Position: Cornerback
Experience: 4 Years (1 with Steelers)
Free Agent Status: Unrestricted
2024 Salary Cap Hit: $440,833
2024 Season Breakdown:
Now here’s a guy, as Chris Collinsworth would say. Here’s a guy who presents an interesting case. A former top-10 draft pick, C.J. Henderson hasn’t had the career he wanted, but can he help the Steelers? He spent most of last season in the organization, but never got on the field.
The Steelers first added Henderson to the practice squad in late September, promoting him to the 53-man roster a month later. They kept him as a healthy scratch, but in a few weeks, he suffered an injury and remained on IR.
A Florida product, C.J. Henderson went 9th overall in the 2020 NFL Draft, selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars. He finished his rookie season on IR, and they traded him to the Panthers a year later. There, he seemed with Steelers pending free agent Donte Jackson, whom they acquired via trade last year.
Despite injuries at cornerback, Cory Trice Jr. going down, the Steelers never promoted C.J. Henderson. Instead, they relied upon James Pierre to serve as the next man up outside. Of course, Henderson was just picked up, so perhaps they didn’t feel comfortable with his level of familiarity with the defense.
While he never entered a game for the Steelers, Henderson has logged over 2,000 career snaps. He has 32 starts across 49 games—but there’s a reason he’s been on four different teams already.
Free Agency Outlook:
In 2024, the Houston Texans signed C.J. Henderson to a one-year, $2 million contract. That includes a $500,000 signing bonus, a cost they had to absorb. The deal was worth up to $3.25 million with incentives, but of course he never saw those.
Given the current state of his career, I would imagine the Steelers would only need to pay Henderson a Veteran Salary Benefit deal. Maybe he would require a token signing bonus to entice him—maybe now. Considering he spent time on the practice squad a year ago, it’s hard to pinpoint exactly where his career is. Assuming he is cheap, though, it might be worth it to re-sign him and give him an opportunity to make the team.
The Steelers have a long list of free agents this year, but not absolutely can’t-lose names. While it includes significant players like Najee Harris and Dan Moore Jr., they are not the team’s priority. The biggest question is the quarterback position, working to choose between Russell Wilson and Justin Fields. There are some choice role players, but they wouldn’t fall apart if they lost the entire lot—minus a quarterback.
The Steelers have some key needs this offseason, and they may add to those needs through termination. This is an offseason on which they should focus on cleaning out some dead weight, which has accumulated over time. Perhaps they will turn over the free agents more often than usual, going back to the outside well.
