The Pittsburgh Steelers could very well be in trouble at the cornerback position in the upcoming 2022 season. The Steelers are inching closer to the start of their season with the team's first preseason game next Saturday, August 13th against the Seattle Seahawks. If the Steelers want to have one of the best defenses in the league, they're facing a catastrophic problem that could very well hold them back from doing so. They're thinning quite a bit in the secondary due to illnesses and injuries.
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One of the Steelers' top cornerbacks, Cam Sutton left practice early on Thursday due to an apparent knee injury.
"Cam Sutton is being evaluated; we'll see what's up with him," Steelers' HC Mike Tomlin stated in his presser after practice. "I think he had a lower body injury of some description. I don't know the severity there."
That doesn't sound promising for Sutton at all. The injury list continues to stack up at the cornerback position with Sutton's recent injury. CB Levi Wallace dressed yesterday, but didn't practice due to an illness designation. That's two of the Steelers' top 3 options at the cornerback position just unavailable right now.
Should the Steelers bring in a Familiar Face, after a Plague of Injuries at the Cornerback Position?
Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Joe Haden celebrates his game-ending interception in the fourth quarter, December 1, 2019, at Heinz Field. (John Kuntz, cleveland.com)
If Sutton's injury is severe and the Steelers are without his services for an extended period of time, they'll need to add to the room, without a doubt. Undrafted rookie stories are great and they're inspiring, but if Sutton is out long-term, the Steelers can't rely on them if they're trying to have the best defense in the league. They'll need to add a veteran to the room.
Who would be better to add to the mix in this scenario than former Steelers' CB Joe Haden? Haden is still currently a free agent whose services could be added on a cheaper deal. He could also be used situationally if the team's current corners get healthy. During his time in the Steel City, Haden was just an overall leader that teammates and even coaches looked up to! In the spring, during minicamp, the Steelers' defensive backs coach, Grady Brown said that the team would miss Haden’s leadership on the back end in 2022.
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“Joe was awesome," Brown stated emphatically in the interview. "Let me just say that, you talk about me being a rookie NFL coach last year, Joe was awesome. He taught me a lot of those differences between the college game and between the pro game and how to approach players and everything like that,” Brown said during the spring.“And I’ll miss Joe tremendously as a person and just as a player, I mean I can’t say enough great things about his personality. I don’t know if he’s ever had a bad day, so we’ll all miss Joe, but just him being around, his energy that he brought everyday and there was an eagerness to learn. You know, he wanted to know whatever it was that I wanted, that I had to teach him. And we’ll definitely miss him around here.”
Haden, despite his age, would be an immediate upgrade over who the Steelers have available right now, behind CB Ahkello Witherspoon. If news comes out that Sutton will be out for an extended period of time, the team's front office needs to make only one call to a veteran cornerback, and it should be Haden on the other end to answer!
What do yinz think? Should the Steelers give Haden a call if Sutton's injury is a long-term issue? Sound off in the comment section below, or on Facebook, Twitter, and/or Instagram!
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