Steelers Now
PITTSBURGH — In place of an injured James Pierre, Asante Samuel Jr. made his first start with the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday night against the Miami Dolphins. He wasted little time making his presence known.
Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa tried to hit Jaylen Waddle deep, but Samuel snagged it instead, clutching it as the receiver tried to pry it loose.
The rest of the Steelers’ secondary consisted of safeties Jalen Ramsey and Kyle Dugger and opposite cornerback Joey Porter Jr. Pierre is dealing with a calf issue he suffered during last week’s win over the Baltimore Ravens.
Pierre had taken over for Darius Slay, a veteran free agent offseason addition who dealt with a concussion and eventually parted ways with the team. The Buffalo Bills claimed Slay off waivers, but he opted not to report to the team.
The Steelers signed Samuel to their practice squad in November. He’d undergone a back surgery in April, which left him waiting to join a team. He was elevated for the Steelers’ matchup against the Bills, playing 28 snaps in that matchup as Slay was a healthy scratch.
“Really it was less about Slay and more about getting an opportunity to see Asante Samuel,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said afterward. “He’s a global NFL starter type who’s been on our practice squad. This time of year, as attrition sets in, you step into stadiums week in and week out, things happen, and we certainly want to have an opportunity to see him in stadium before we maybe had to make a decision on him, before someone else forced our hand.
“So, it was about that for us. Slay has missed some time due to a variety of injuries and so forth. It was about getting a look at that guy that started a lot of games in this league, and we did. We liked some of the things that we saw.”
Samuel was signed to the Steelers’ active roster earlier this month.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Asante Samuel Jr. Makes Huge Impact First Start for Steelers
