4 Steelers with notable snap counts in loss vs Raiders
By Tommy Jaggi
Stelers CB James Pierre
James Pierre was one of my winners from this summer. He really caught my attention with impressive and consistent play at Steelers training camp, and I thought he was the best cornerback on the team during the preseason.
With Joe Haden listed as a surprise inactive prior to the 1:00 P.M. ET game against the Raiders, it was James Pierre who filled in. Not only did Pierre play a majority of the snaps in Haden’s place, but he was also just one of five players who never left the field for Pittsburgh’s defense – playing all 66 defensive snaps.
Unfortunately, Pierre didn’t have the best performance of his young career. So far this season, he has already been faulted for giving up 9 catches on 13 targets for 107 yards, according to Pro Football Reference. This is not the start the team was hoping for, and Pierre will need to turn things around quickly if he wants to remain first in line behind Joe Haden and Cameron Sutton.
Still, Pierre has to feel good about his snap count as Justin Layne earned just 9 defensive snaps and newcomer Ahkello Witherspoon had just 4 snaps against the Raiders. With Haden nursing a groin injury, it’s unclear at this point whether or not he will be available to suit up, but Pierre is clearly the first in line off the bench for the Steelers at the cornerback position.