The Pittsburgh Steelers signed a key free agent this off-season when they added veteran cornerback Levi Wallace to the secondary. Wallace joins a young Steelers' cornerback room that is without CB Joe Haden due to the team electing not re-sign him. Wallace joins Cam Sutton, Ahkello Witherspoon, and Arthur Maulet as the only veteran cornerbacks with a decent amount of snaps played on the roster.
The Pittsburgh Steelers participate in Organized Team Activities (OTAs) Wednesday May 25, 2022 at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. (Abigail Dean/Pittsburgh Steelers)
“His vet presence, you know, just telling us what to expect and just putting in work, basically,” is what third-year cornerback James Pierre is seeing out of Wallace so far. “Guys just have to step up, keep doing what Joe [Haden] was doing, and all of us have to stay at it every day and work hard.”
Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Levi Wallace (29) participates in Organized Team Activities(OTAs), Tuesday May 24, 2022 at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. (Abigail Dean/Pittsburgh Steelers)
Wallace brings five years of experience and 52 career starts, in which he was a member of the Buffalo Bills organization, to the city of Pittsburgh. He had a couple of Bills teammates, Dane Jackson and Damar Hamlin, who were familiar with the area from their time at the University of Pittsburgh, have offered him some suggestions on where to go in Pittsburgh.
Levi Wallace (39), Dane Jackson (30), Taron Johnson (24). Buffalo Bills vs New Orleans Saints at Caesars Superdome, November 25, 2021. Photo by Bill Wippert/ Buffalo Bills
“Oh yeah, they gave me tons [of suggestions] — like a full list I still haven’t really gotten to look at,” the soft-spoken Wallace said last week. “But it’s good. They helped me find a place here.”
Wallace spoke about his first day of OTAs this past week:
“I didn't really think too hard about it,” Wallace said of his first day of OTAs. “Once you're on the field, football is football. ... Just seeing the leadership and how they put a lot of trust in the leaders here on the field, that was really cool to see.”
Wallace seems to have a chance to really tackle a leadership role in the cornerback room with the Steelers this season and for years to come.
Matt Freed/ Post-Gazette
Wallace understands the "next man up" mentality that head coach Mike Tomlin consistently preaches about in season. Especially, a season removed from taking over the CB1 role when Bills teammate, Tre’Davious White, went down with a season-ending injury.
"Honestly, I’d never even heard of, like, ‘CB1’ or ‘CB2’ until recently. I thought corners were corners,” Wallace said with a smile, adding that it’s an overblown label. “Absolutely, I think so. I think Tre was obviously one of the best corners that we had, and he honestly was a ‘CB1,’ taking the Number 1 receivers a lot of the time. But when he got hurt last year, I took a lot of them, and I’d guarded them before, too. That stuff doesn’t faze me.”
Wallace isn't afraid of taking on top receivers in the NFL and even shadowing them as he did for the last month and a half a season ago.
Buffalo Bills cornerback Levi Wallace celebrates his interception during an NFL game against the New York Jets on Nov. 14, 2021, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun) AP
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