It's never fun to prep for the worst-case scenario, but there are a few areas where the Pittsburgh Steelers need to be proactive heading into the 2025 season. We're early in training camp, and all signs feel positive for Pittsburgh's secondary, but Mike Tomlin and Omar Khan already need a plan of attack if Darius Slay struggles.
The Steelers handed Slay a one-year, $10 million fully guaranteed contract during the 2025 offseason. This isn't the type of money you pay to a backup. Early in camp, Slay has been the starting right cornerback opposite Joey Porter Jr.
Some wondered if Slay would come off the field on base defense because of the acquisition of Jalen Ramsey. However, Ramsey has been playing free safety in Pittsburgh's 3-4 base defense and kicking down to slot cornerback when the Steelers are in nickel.
This means that Slay is seeing the field full time... and that could turn into a major problem.
Darius Slay is playing on borrowed time, and the Pittsburgh Steelers need a backup plan
If it feels like Darius Slay has been around the NFL for a long time, it's because he has. The veteran cornerback has outlasted nearly every defensive back from his draft class and is now one of the oldest cornerbacks in the NFL.
Slay is 34.5 years old, and according to Pro Football Focus' database, this makes him the third-oldest cornerback in the NFL. But we can take this one step further. Slay is the second-oldest CB on an NFL roster (behind only Cowboys' C.J. Goodwin), and he's the oldest projected starting cornerback in the NFL ahead of the 2025 season.
While this might not seem ancient, let me give you an idea of how rare this is. Besides Slay, the only projected starting cornerback in the NFL over age 31 this year is the LA Rams' Darious Williams, who is 32.2 years old (still over two years younger than Slay). And in case you were wondering, Stephon Gilmore is 34.8 years old, but he's not on an NFL roster.
There's a reason cornerbacks typically don't last this long in the NFL—they don't have the speed, quickness, and reaction time to stick with younger, more athletic wide receivers. Even once-great cornerbacks like Darrelle Revis showed signs of being washed up by their age-30 seasons, and Revis only played until he was 32 years old before retiring.
There's zero question that Slay is playing on borrowed time, and his performance could fall off a cliff at any given moment—potentially even early in the Steelers' 2025 season. If this proves to be the case, the Steelers need a backup plan.
Fortunately, with Jalen Ramsey on the team, it's easy to formulate one. Ramsey would simply step in as the starting right cornerback when the Steelers are in their base defense. This would mean that Juan Thornhill would be seeing a full-time role at free safety.
When the Steelers move to their nickel defense, Pittsburgh would have two options: keep Ramsey on the boundary and have Beanie Bishop Jr. kick inside to cover the slot, or move Ramsey inside and have Cory Trice Jr. slide in as the right CB.
Of course, the Steelers will only need to do this if Slay looks disastrous early in the season (a la Levi Wallace in 2023). I want to give Darius Slay the benefit of the doubt, and maybe the nearly 35-year-old can still string together one more good season. However, the data isn't on his side, and the Steelers need to be ready to replace him if things go sideways.