The Pittsburgh Steelers’ defense generated multiple turnovers against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 9. However, there are still issues lingering on the defense that still need to be handled before the team can begin to dream about the postseason again.
Veteran cornerback Darius Slay continues to struggle to stay on the field almost as much as he struggles in coverage. He left the game in the first quarter, briefly after suffering an injury on his right arm. He went to the locker room after helping Payton Wilson tackle Josh Downs, but was back in the game for the start of the next drive.
Prior to the injury, Slay was in the area when Alec Pierce hauled in a 36-yard gain, and was also in the area on the Downs catch that he suffered the injury on. He was around for a few more completed passes until the fourth quarter.
Downs caught a 17-yard pass to convert a third down, and Slay, who gave up the pass, stayed down after Downs landed awkwardly on his leg.
The Pittsburgh Steelers can’t keep working around Darius Slay’s issues
For what it’s worth, Slay has left the game due to injury in nearly all of the Steelers' games this season. The 34-year-old hasn’t missed any full games this season, but it’s become too common an outcome for him to give up an early catch and make his way to the sidelines to chat with the trainers.
Fans would be more forgiving of his injury troubles if it didn’t come with his struggles in coverage. Coming into the game, Saly had allowed a career-worst 77.4% of passes in his coverage area to be completed. With another handful of catches allowed against Indianapolis, his presence in the defense is becoming harder to justify by the week.
Slay's struggles to stay in the game are just as hindering as his play when he is in. Pittsburgh doesn't have comfortable depth in its secondary as it is. The team effectively moved Jalen Ramsey to free safety for the Colts game, so if that continues into the coming weeks, the Steelers are down to Slay, Joey Porter Jr., Brandin Echols, and James Pierre at cornerback.
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Pittsburgh isn’t exactly in a position to just drop Slay off at the nearest retirement home because of the lack of depth. However, with the trade deadline approaching on Tuesday, the team must be considering its options to improve the defense. The Steelers have already made one move to help out the secondary, but that was more due to injury than poor performance from DeShon Elliott.
Slay, though, is a liability on two fronts, so the Steelers might have to question whether he is worth the headache any longer. If he’s a liability in coverage and a liability to remain available, the value his otherwise impressive career has built for him is all but evaporated.