With Darius Slay on the field, says Steelers S Minkah Fitzpatrick, he can play freer, easier, knowing what to expect. While they’ve cycled through veteran CBs in recent years, Slay offers arguably the highest level of play at the right time. At least, that’s what the Steelers are counting on, hoping to get one strong season out of the 34-year-old.
“I think a guy like that is extremely valuable”, Fitzpatrick said of Slay, via the Steelers’ website during OTAs. “He’s covering his side of the field, and you know when you have him man-to-man, or even in zone, you know that it’s solid over there. There’s no leaning to one guy, especially when you’ve got Joey [Porter Jr.] on the other side. There’s no real concerns out there. You know he’s gonna be in the right position. You know he’s gonna do his job at a high level, so you can just play ball”.
The Steelers have, arguably, their strongest combination at cornerback since Minkah Fitzpatrick’s first year here. At that time, they had Joe Haden at cornerback and also added Steven Nelson. Now they have Joey Porter Jr. entering his third season and have paired him with Darius Slay.
As a rookie, the Steelers put Porter together with Patrick Peterson, which didn’t work out as well as planned. By that point in his career, Peterson had lost just a bit too much tread on his tires. Last year, they brought in Donte Jackson via trade. He struggled to stay healthy, which contributed to inconsistencies despite his impact plays. Darius Slay is up there in age, but he is still playing at a high level.
If everything goes according to plan—and that’s a big if—Fitzpatrick does think it will have a meaningful impact. Asked if he felt having a veteran like Slay out there allows other people to just do their jobs, he said, “100 percent”.
Arguably, that’s one of the things the Steelers have struggled with in the past two years. Allowing Minkah Fitzpatrick to do the job they want him to do, rather than requiring him to do the job they needed him to do. If Slay can help with that and also contribute to Fitzpatrick having a bigger impact, that’s a force multiplier.
Granted, one of the reasons the Steelers signed Darius Slay is because the Eagles released him. He was the best available cornerback on the market who wouldn’t damage their compensatory formula. But there’s a reason they only signed him to a one-year contract, after all. If he doesn’t work out, they can move on. If they think he has another year in him, they can sign him for another year.
