Behind the Steel Curtain
The Pittsburgh Steelers have just one more preseason tilt to play before the games start to count. Pittsburgh will head to Carolina for an exhibition contest that, for many players, matters quite a bit. Some guys must take advantage of this final opportunity as the focus shifts to the regular season.
We already know we won’t see Aaron Rodgers or DK Metcalf, as Mike Tomlin ruled those guys out early in the week. You can add defensive veterans Cam Heyward and T.J. Watt to that list as well. That’ll open the door for a few bubble players to receive more action. Surprisingly, there are Steelers who are already locks to make the roster who will likely get their first in-game action, including a few new faces.
Here are the players I’ll be excited to watch:
The Steelers’ two big acquisitions at cornerback have a combined age of 64 years, but are expected to play in this contest, as Tomlin wants to see the new faces on the backend of the defense work on their communication in an NFL stadium. Tomlin has gushed about Ramsey’s ability to play all over the field, so we will see how many hats Ramsey is asked to wear. Slay will line up on the outside, with Joey Porter Jr. likely handling the other side of the field.
Ramsey has been vocal this offseason about how he sees an unlimited ceiling for this team’s defense. This is the first glimpse we will get at two new significant pieces of that foundation.
One man’s opportunity can sometimes be another man’s misfortune, and in the case of Bishop, Ramsey’s acquisition appears to have drastically changed his outlook on this roster. After recording four interceptions last season, Bishop is on the roster bubble due to his lack of positional versatility. He started in the slot last season, but Ramsey will take over that spot, and new Steelers cornerback Brandin Echols is also ahead in the pecking order.
Talking about Bishop this week, defensive coordinator Teryl Austin said, “he really has to fight and work to get some splash to get in the picture.”
He’ll have another chance to do that tonight, but assuming the picture means the roster, he’s going to need to make a killer whale-like splash to secure a spot.
After a rough start to training camp, Jones has been a pleasant surprise the past few weeks. In Jacksonville, he didn’t allow a single pressure by Jaguars’ star pass-rusher Josh Hines-Allen in 12 dropbacks. He continued his steady performance against the Buccaneers.
Jones is arguably the most important player on the Steelers this season, considering he’ll be tasked with protecting the blind side of 41-year-old QB Aaron Rodgers. He’s making the transition from the right side to his more natural side on the left and needs to show significant growth in terms of technical refinement to convince the team and their fans...
