The Pittsburgh Steelers suffered a big blow to their secondary earlier this week when the NFL made the suspension of Cameron Sutton official. Sutton will face an eight-game suspension that will last through the beginning portion of the season, up to the matchup against the Washington Commanders on November 10th. Though speculation has begun to swirl that the Steelers may have signed Sutton as an insurance policy for the back half of the season, the question still remains, who will play the slot during the most important stretch of the season.
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Steelers cornerback, Cam Sutton.
General Manager Omar Khan, who has had to deal with the holes in the secondary all offseason, has made some moves to bridge the gap. Donte Jackson was the highlight addition in a trade with the Carolina Panthers to start the offseason, but other guys like Beanie Bishop, DeShon Elliott, and Anthony Averett were all brought in to compete for the starting slot role prior to the signing of Sutton.
With Sutton now on the shelf, the question of who starts has come around again. As Chris Carter and Adam Bittner of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette discussed on Wednesday's edition of the North Shore Podcast, the answer the Steelers may need for the vacancy was on the roster last season.
"With all the guys they have that are young veterans that they have brought to the team on super cheap contracts... if none of them works, there's still a guy they had last year on the roster of that position in Chandon Sullivan who's a free agent right now. I thought they would bring him back because he would cost you nothing, and he was pretty decent there. He wasn't amazing, he wasn't lights out like Mike Hilton was when he was with the Steelers, but you could put Sullivan in the slot and he was one of those guys that you were actually not worried about giving up the big play."
Chandon Sullivan didn't have his name called often in 2023, which is typically a good thing when you talk about corners. Sullivan was signed by the Steelers in May of 2023 and played in all 17 games for the team. He tallied 22 tackles, a forced fumble, an interception, and was one shy of tying a career high in pass deflections.
Jared Wickerham / Pittsburgh Steelers
Steelers cornerback Chandon Sullivan collects his first regular season interception as a member of the team in a game against the Cleveland Browns in November of 2023.
Despite the lack of flashy plays, Sullivan was a key guy when called upon to make a play. The biggest perk to Sullivan over anyone else the Steelers could elect to trade for or utilize in free agency, is the familiarity with Defensive Coordinator Teryl Austin's system. This was a big advantage for Sutton in re-signing with the team, and could be the clincher to bring Sullivan back to Pittsburgh for a second season.
Do The Steelers Truly Have A Plan At Slot Corner?
The question surrounding the Steelers following Sutton's suspension is what was the point? In some ways, the signing of Sutton could factor as an insurance policy with the gauntlet that is the end of the regular season, where the team plays several opponents with legitimate Super Bowl aspirations in 2024. Knowing that they would likely want to have a reserve option who was guaranteed to know the playbook and be healthy is certainly a consideration for why the Steelers made the move in the first place.
However, everything circles back to the initial problem of who can play the slot. Elliott, who has played briefly in the slot in his career is an option, but is more likely to factor in as a safety with Damontae Kazee, to allow Minkah Fitzpatrick to truly patrol the field and return to his ball hawking ways. Averett, who signed with the Steelers during rookie minicamp, also has brief exposure at the position, but may be a good rotational/depth piece on the outside.
This leads to Bishop, who played at nearby West Virginia. An All-American is his final season with the Mountaineers, Bishop led the nation in passes defended and pass breakups with 24 and 20 respectively. A player who has looked good at minicamp, the undrafted rookie has arguably the best opportunity to make a name for himself and earn a starting job headed into training camp in a few weeks. It won't be an easy task for Bishop, who will be competing with veterans, and potential players like Sullivan for a roster spot.
Sebastian Foltz / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Steelers' Beanie Bishop at 2024 Rookie Minicamp.
Khan has had a plan since he took over the job two seasons ago, and has earned the respect of Steeler Nation to trust him. So long as he remains proactive, and not reactive when addressing this position, the Steelers are in the best hands possible. All options have been on the table in the past to fill roster spots, so there is reason to believe the same goes for the slot.
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