Steelers Have All The Signs Of A Youth Movement Brewing In A Room Others Called Doomed

The Pittsburgh Steelers have the most expensive defense in the NFL heading into the 2024 season. That is usually not only a sign of talent, but also veteran status and that definitely describes the squad in Pittsburgh. The core group: Cam Heyward, T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith, Minkah Fitzpatrick, and Patrick Queen, all have All-Pro level abilities. However, there is clearly a younger group that is pushing its way in including Joey Porter Jr., Keeanu Benton, Nick Herbig, and Payton Wilson, to name a few. 

One area in particular that is feeling that influx of youthfulness is the cornerback room. During the 2023 season, with injuries on defense, the cornerback room took a huge hit. Veteran Patrick Peterson showed that Father Time had finally caught up to him, and Porter couldn't do it by himself. This pulled Fitzpatrick out of position and threw the whole defense off. 

While the Steelers made a trade for Donte Jackson during the 2024 offseason, the slot corner position is still problematic. At first, during training camp at Latrobe, it seemed as though the Steelers had found a diamond in the rough in undrafted rookie free agent Beanie Bishop Jr. Unfortunately for Bishop and the Steelers, the young corner suffered an injury during the last week of camp. 

Head Coach Mike Tomlin commented on Bishop's position as the leading slot corner on the depth chart, saying that it was really the result of availability, not the fact that he had earned the top spot. The fact that everything is falling on the shoulders of a 5'9" untested and undrafted rookie makes many nervous -- making them wonder why the Steelers didn't just sign someone else prior to the start of the season. 

That led Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reporter Ray Fittipaldo to address it in his popular chat column. Fittipaldo was asked if he was surprised they didn't bring someone else in, especially since the depth at outside corner is so thin, and Bishop is so unproven. 

"I am a bit surprised, but I think this signals a youth movement," wrote Fittipaldo. "I asked Teryl Austin a couple of weeks ago about the young CBs and how he knows when he can trust them. He basically said the Steelers are betting they'll get better as the season goes on. I think they know there will be some mistakes, but they're willing to live with them because they expect all of these guys to (be) better in November and December. So they easily could have signed Patrick Peterson and used him, but they knew what they looked like last year. Guys like Bishop and Cory Trice and Darius Rush on the outside are faster and have more upside. Yes, they don't have experience, but I guess there is only one way to get experience -- and that's to play in games."

The Steelers also have Cam Sutton returning to the roster after he serves his eight-week suspension. Pittsburgh chose to re-sign Sutton after the Detroit Lions released him when he was charged with domestic violence. Of course, the Steelers also have the toughest schedule in the league this year and cannot afford to wait for Sutton to return to win games.  

Steelers Don't Need To Worry About Inside Linebacker, Finally

For the first time in many years, the inside linebacker room is not a significant concern for the Steelers' defense. After being the Achilles heel of the defense since Ryan Shazier was injured in 2017, the room is in solid shape heading into 2024. 

Of course, they felt they had answers at the start of the 2023 season, and it seemed they did initially. Then, both Cole Holcomb and Kwon Alexander went down with season-ending injuries.

Now, former Steelers linebacker Terence Garvin is singing the praises of that group. He believes that with Queen leading the charge along with newcomer Wilson backing him up, the group should finally be able to return to its former glory.  

What do you think about the cornerback room? Click to comment below. 

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