After taking a big swing at the cornerback position last spring, signing Patrick Peterson to replace Cameron Sutton, who ended up signing with the Detroit Lions on a three-year, 33 million contract, the Pittsburgh Steelers decided to take a more tactical approach on the back end of their defense heading into 2024, trading Diontae Johnson to the Carolina Panthers for Donte Jackson and a late-round pick swap.
Now at 28, Jackson isn't particularly young, but he is very fast and has experience playing inside and out for a number of different Panthers defenses over the years. Factor in the return of Sutton and the emergence of Joey Porter Jr. as a potential star cornerback in the NFL, and the Steelers have an improved cornerback group in 2024, assuming everyone stays healthy and unsuspended for the full season.
But what happens if the Steelers experience some bad luck at the position, either through injury, regression, or Sutton being suspended for a portion of the season? If that happens, the Steelers look really light at one of the most important positions in the NFL in a division with some very scary receiving options.
Fortunately, there are a few cornerbacks on the open market who could help to fill out their depth chart heading into the fall, including one former Pro Bowler who is still a solid enough option on the outside.
Stephon Gilmore is an ideal stopgap corner for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
After bouncing around the AFC East for the better part of a decade, first playing for the Buffalo Bills and then for the New England Patriots from 2012-21, Stephon Gilmore bounced around the NFL as one of the premier cornerback guns for hire, first holding things down for the Panthers, then the Colts, and finally for the Cowboys, where he played 1,002 defensive snaps as Dallas' CB2 between Trevon Diggs and DaRon Bland.
While the Cowboys didn't bring back Gilmore in 2024, in part because of Bland's emergence and because of his just okay play, for a team like the Steelers, who really don't have a fourth cornerback they should feel totally comfortable using if someone suffers an injury, he could still be an interesting enough option and a position of value, even if he isn't a guaranteed starter out of the gate.
Give him some time to get acclimated to the Steelers' system, rotate him in with the team's current top three, and who knows, maybe Gilmore will prove a valuable performer in 2024 should Pittsburgh need to call his number.
Omar Khan isn't sure if Cameron Sutton will get suspended.
While the Steelers did load up on a few new cornerbacks in free agency between free agency and draft weekend, one of their most prominent additions, Sutton, may miss a percentage of the season after being arrested in Florida for domestic violence.
While the Detroit Lions were quick to cut Sutton loose and look elsewhere in 2024 for help at the cornerback spot out of fear that they could be down a start at a pivotal position, Omar Khan let it be known that he doesn't know if the former Tenessee Volunteer will miss time but feels confident that the team will make it work if he does.
“You know, we'll see. We did meet with Cam, I think it was a couple weeks ago. It was more than just about the situation here, we just wanna see how he was doing. We spent six years with Cam, and they were a good six years with Cam. It was a good experience, and obviously, he had an opportunity to go to Detroit – had to make a business decision, but we'll see,” Omar Khan told WDVE's Morning Show via Fan Nation.
“I will say this, I do like the depth we have at the position. You know, there's some young guys in there that are gonna compete and have a lot of traits to be really good nickel corners, and I really like that group. … We'll see what the future holds.”
If Sutton does miss time, the Steelers do have a few interesting options in who could fill his shoes as a base cornerback in Donte Jackson and Ryan Wattss, their sixth-round round pick out of Texas who has incredible size but probably isn't ready to go right away. Still, if Sutton does get suspended and ends up missing an extensive period of time, calling someone like Gilmore makes a ton of sense, as he could fill the role fans wanted from Patrick Peterson, only at a higher level.
