Player: CB James Pierre
Stock Value: Up
Reasoning: James Pierre isn’t about to give up his roster spot without a fight, making plays on defense with lines thinning. A special teams ace, he finds himself in perhaps a losing battle to maintain his place on the 53-man roster. But there is room for him if he earns it, and he may have to do so by thriving in multiple phases.
I say this a lot, but once upon a time, Steelers fans looked upon James Pierre as they do now with Cory Trice Jr. A tall, physical cornerback as a potential diamond in the rough—what’s not to love? The problem is most players teams draft late or sign as free agents justify teams’ decisions not to draft them earlier.
Pierre has carved out a nice career for himself primarily on special teams, going into his sixth NFL season. Should he make the team and last all season, he’ll have career earnings pushing $6 million. If he wanted to, and if he has managed this money with reasonable intelligence, he could retire comfortably in his late 20s.
But he’s not planning to do that. If yesterday’s practice is any indication, James Pierre very much wants to further his career. With Joey Porter Jr. not practicing, he earned higher-quality reps and made the most of them. Among the plays he made were two interceptions, one during team period, the other one-on-ones.
Early in his career, Pierre did find his way on the field, playing 414 snaps in 2021. Due to injuries, he ended up playing a surprising amount even last year, to the tune of 206 snaps. But that was a last resort at the time for the Steelers, dealing with a string of injuries.
As of now, Pierre is battling for a 10th or 11th defensive back spot on the roster. Likely ahead of him are Porter, Jalen Ramsey, Darius Slay, DeShon Elliott, Juan Thornhill, Chuck Clark, Miles Killebrew, Cory Trice Jr., Brandin Echols, and perhaps Beanie Bishop Jr. He could be battling Bishop for the last spot, and if special teams is the tiebreaker, he has the advantage. But I think the Steelers need more slot defenders than outside ones, so that could work against him.
With training camp underway and the Steelers exploring their new roster, it’s once again time to “take stock”. It took a while, but we finally saw some of that change the team talked about after the season ended. Certainly, the move to trade for WR DK Metcalf qualifies as a change, not to mention the accompanying contract. Oh, and they also traded some guy named George Pickens, which people found significant.
As we speak, we are in the process of learning what this Steelers team is going to look like. The dust is settled on both free agency and the 2025 NFL Draft, and now we’re in camp. What other moves might the team make, perhaps unexpected acquisitions or departures? They’ve certainly made a flurry of moves, though some question whether they make much difference. This is a Steelers team starving for postseason success, but how desperate are they for a playoff win in 2025?
