It's no secret that the Pittsburgh Steelers have a few areas of need to hopefully address this offseason when it comes to their defense. Cornerback should be at the top of their offseason priority list as free agency will be here before we know it and well, the Steelers need to make sure they do their best to put themselves in a position to make a splash.
Whether it's to acquire a top free agent cornerback or see if a trade is possible to land one, the Steelers must explore all options to improve the positional group for next season. Unfortunately, the Steelers don't have much salary cap room to work with so if they want to grab a top cornerback this offseason, it might have to involve some kind of creative trade package.
As of right now, it remains to be seen what will transpire between the Los Angeles Rams and cornerback Jalen Ramsey. He could be a salary cap casualty by the Rams which would make him a top free agent worth pursuing.
Jalen Ramsey would be a huge addition to the Steelers defense
Of course, the Steelers do have some salary cap-saving roster moves to make to even be a consideration for Ramsey but make no mistake about it, he'd be worth every penny to bolster the defensive secondary immediately upon impact. Besides being a locker room leader and even team captain for the Rams last season, he still has a lot of football left in him.
So far in his seven-year career, Ramsey has totaled 452 tackles, 19 interceptions, six forced fumbles, and two sacks. He's been relatively healthy over the years and is coming off a solid season with the Rams in 2022. Last year, he totaled 88 tackles and four interceptions in one of the best seasons so far in his career.
If the Steelers can re-sign cornerback Cam Sutton to a long-term deal and bring in Ramsey to work alongside him, that right there would be quite the dynamic duo. Can you imagine having these two cornerbacks holding down the fort on defense for the Steelers? Their defense as a whole would be incredibly better thanks to everything Ramsey would bring to the table.
In the grand scheme of things, it looks like the best route for the Steelers to take would be to try and trade for Ramsey depending on what the Rams decide to do and what they want. If they cut him and he hits free agency, it would be a lot harder to bring him in due to their salary cap issues. If they're able to work a trade with draft picks and/or players that won't hurt them too much as they rebuild for the future, that would be ideal.
If Ramsey is available, the Steelers must do everything possible to acquire him. Needless to say, it will be a very interesting offseason for the Steelers to see what moves they ultimately make to bolster their team. Their defense needs a lot of work but bringing Ramsey aboard to help the cause would be exactly what the Steelers need and then some. Not only would he be an anchor at cornerback but they could build around him for years to come to make their defense something worth talking about again.