With the Steelers slot cornerback position still questionable, these six routes are the most likely way the team fills the void there in 2021.
With the departure of Mike Hilton, the Steelers are for the first time without a consistent slot cornerback on the roster since he made the roster in 2017. The team has a couple of in-house options as well as free agents that could make sense to bring in, but until anything definite happens, this group is very much in question for the 2021 season. Not all of the options are great (they never are when you are filling needs this late into the offseason), but each solution provides someone that would be able to play in the slot. With all that said, here are the Steelers’ six most likely solutions to the question at slot cornerback.
Steelers wait until cutdown day
Of all six options, this one is easily the worst and least likely. While the Steelers have been known to add roster cutdown players regularly, they usually fill basic depth positions, not starting ones. Simply put, adding a player from another team’s camp so late in the offseason and throwing them into a starting role is daring to say the least. The team has done it before though, as Ross Cockrell found himself a starter shortly after the Steelers brought him in after the Bills cut him.
There are some intriguing names on the team’s roster bubbles as well. A name that instantly pops to mind is Broncos’ slot cornerback Essang Bassey. He went undrafted last year out of Wake Forrest and the Broncos starter him in the slot for a good portion of the year. He had his struggles, but that is to be expected from an undrafted rookie. That all said, if this is truly the team’s plan at slot cornerback this season, don’t be surprised to see this group struggle mightily during the season.