Not every offseason addition by the Pittsburgh Steelers is going to be a success. In the past few years alone, the Steelers have had draft disappointments like Broderick Jones, who didn't meet early expectations, free agent signings like Patrick Peterson, who were completely underwhelming, and returning players like Larry Ogunjobi, who failed to live up to 'the standard'.
Unfortunately, the Steelers can't get every offseason move right, and it's already becoming obvious which players have 2025 bust potential written all over them.
Darius Slay has had a tremendous NFL career and comes pre-loaded with NFL experience, but to say he's already had his time in the spotlight is an understatement. Though Slay just earned a Super Bowl ring with the Philadelphia Eagles following the 2024 season, his performance was overshadowed by rookie cornerbacks Cooper DeJean and Quinyon Mitchell.
The Eagles were loaded from top to bottom with talent on both sides of the roster, and Slay's impact was fairly minimal last season as he failed to record an interception in 14 starts last year. This doesn't make him a bad player, but he was far from being the most important asset on a stacked Eagles defense.
Steelers fans questioned the front office's decision to hand Slay a one-year, $10 million, fully guaranteed contract during the 2025 offseason. At 34 years old, Slay's performance could hit rock bottom at any given moment, and history suggests that he's already playing on borrowed time for an NFL cornerback.
While the Steelers didn't add cornerback competition in the NFL Draft until taking Central Michigan's Donte Kent in the seventh round, it was the blockbuster trade that followed in the summer that now makes Slay a true 'bust' signing candidate.
The Pittsburgh Steelers may have wasted money on Darius Slay with Jalen Ramsey now in town
When the Pittsburgh Steelers signed Slay after being cut from the Eagles during the 2025 season, they obviously had no idea that Jalen Ramsey was going to be on their roster before training camp. Had they known, we can probably bet they would have never moved forward with the Slay signing.
A defense can never have too many good cornerbacks, but the addition of Ramsey clearly makes Slay the third-most desirable of the group. Because of his age, it stands to reason that Joey Porter Jr. and Ramsey will be the starting cornerbacks in Pittsburgh's 3-4 base defense. Then, on nickel and dime subpackages, Slay is expected to enter the field as a boundary cornerback with Ramsey kicking inside to cover the slot.
In addition to these pieces, the Steelers were high on Cory Trice Jr. Despite his forgettable game against Bengals superstar Ja'Marr Chase late in the 2024 season, Trice has been impressive when healthy, and he could carve out a role as the team's dimebacker. They also signed former Jets cornerback Brandin Echols to a two-year contract this offseason (who at least has youth and speed on his side).
While most of the Steelers' cornerbacks are expected to grow and show improvement, we can be almost certain that the aging Darius Slay will take a notable step back this season. If the 13-year cornerback loses a step, it's possible he could even get the 'Levi Wallace treatment' at some point this season and see a demotion in his role.
We've got to face reality: Darius Slay is over two years older than the next oldest cornerback currently on an NFL roster who played enough snaps to qualify for a PFF grade last season (LA Rams' Darious Williams). There's a reason for this. Cornerbacks just don't last that long in this league. Perhaps he can surprise us with a quality season in Pittsburgh, but Slay is already looking like a 2025 bust candidate on the Steelers.