3 Steelers playing for a 2022 roster spot in the last 4 games
By Tommy Jaggi
Steelers CB Justin Layne
Talk about a disappointment. Steelers fans had high hopes for cornerback Justin Layne as he entered the team as a third-round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. There were many draft experts who had him pegged as an early second-round prospect, so it looked like Pittsburgh was getting excellent value where they took him.
We all knew that Justin Layne needed time to develop, but he was much further away from being a contributor than I anticipated. Layne will enter his fourth season in a contract year in 2022, however, he’s not guaranteed to make the roster.
As it stands, Pittsburgh still has Cameron Sutton and James Pierre under contract, and it’s likely like they might be willing to give Ahkello Witherspoon a contract extension. While Joe Haden isn’t likely to return based on his comments prior to the start of the season, the team almost certainly is going to invest at least one pick into the cornerback position in the draft and possibly even spend big here in free agency.
Justin Layne is a quality special teams player, which could help his case in 2022, but he has rarely seen the field in three seasons, and Pittsburgh might be thinking about moving on. He really needs to take advantage of every snap he gets over the final four games this year.
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The Steelers have others who are in the same boat, but these three players must prove their worth to the team over the final games of the season in order to keep their roster spots in 2022.