The Pittsburgh Steelers are lacking the talent to build around for the future. Here’s why they need to sign Ahkello Witherspoon to an extension in 2022.
In many ways, 2021 has seemed like somewhat of a wasted season for the Pittsburgh Steelers. While we got to watch Ben Roethlisberger exit Heinz Field for the last time on a high note, Mike Tomlin’s team was pretty underwhelming this year — both offensively and defensively.
Sadly, things don’t look much brighter for the future. Steelers fans can take comfort in knowing that they have a superstar edge defender in T.J. Watt and some other young, capable football players like Minkah Fitzpatrick, Diontae Johnson, Pat Freiermuth, Alex Highsmith, and Najee Harris. Unfortunately, the depth on the roster is a mess, and this team is lacking more capable players to build around for the future.
While the secondary was hardly the weakest link on the team this year, it seemed to be almost completely void of splash plays and some players fell short of living up to expectations. At the cornerback position, Joe Haden has shown signs of aging and is highly unlikely to return to the team. Meanwhile, James Pierre was benched due to his poor play and Cameron Sutton hasn’t been very good as a starter like the team was hoping he would be.
The good news is there is one bright spot at the cornerback position: Ahkello Witherspoon. During the first half of the season, it appeared as if the Steelers had blown a fifth-round draft choice, as Witherspoon could hardly do enough to earn a helmet on Sundays.
However, over the past five games, Witherspoon has arguable been the best player in Pittsburgh’s secondary. In fact, you could make a case that he’s been a top-five player on the team during this span.
Why Steelers should extend Ahkello Witherspoon
Witherspoon is set to become an unrestricted free agent in the 2022 offseason, and it will ultimately be up to him to decide where he winds up next season. However, the Steelers are set to have $43.7 million in cap space next season, according to Over the Cap, and signing the gifted cornerback seems like a good option for several reasons.
For starters, Witherspoon has been spectacular for Pittsburgh down the stretch. Though he had a few rough games to begin the season, he hasn’t allowed a passer rating over 69.5 since Week 3, via Pro Football Reference. Witherspoon also has earned 3 interceptions over his past five games and he has been credited with 7 pass defenses during this time.
In addition to his recent surge of great play, Witherspoon is one of the only cornerbacks on the roster with the skill set to project as a quality starting outside cornerback. Pierre has good size, but is a very limited athlete with poor speed, while Cameron Sutton is undersized with below-average athletic traits. At 6’3” and 198 pounds, Witherspoon has 4.45 speed and can jump through the roof. He clearly has the most athletic upside of the group.
There is some reason to trust Ahkello Witherspoon beyond the small sample we have seen from him in a Steelers uniform this season. Though he was traded for a late-round pick, Witherspoon had a remarkable season for the 49ers in 2020 in which he graded out as the 6th-best cornerback in the NFL, according to Pro Football Reference. Even in a limited role this year, Witherspoon is currently the 10th-highest-graded CB in the league thanks to his incredible play down the stretch.
The Steelers have a lot of money in 2022 and not enough quality players to sign. Ahkello Witherspoon is still just 26 years old and could prove to be a staple to this secondary for years. I think Pittsburgh needs to try to get a contract extension worked out in the 2022 offseason.