Steelers Now
Pittsburgh Steelers All-Pro defensive tackle Cam Heyward loves what the Steelers have at cornerback with Jalen Ramsey, Darius Slay and Joey Porter Jr. He calls the trio the “Three-Headed Monster.”
“On defense, we’ve got a three-headed monster between [Porter], Jalen and Slay,” Heyward said on NFL Network’s Inside Training Camp Live. “I love how they’re bringing over a culture and a legacy there to teach Joey what he’s getting into. But on the other side, I like to mess with DK. I get him started before every practice.
“I talk about. They’re not just gonna clamp you, ‘They’re gonna put you in a rollerocaster and pinch you down.’ So, DK wants to go out and expose everybody because of that.”
Ramsey has made his presence known at training camp, making plays left and right. He’s also lining up all over the defense. He brings a skill set to the Steelers defense that they’ve not had in years.
“He’s a Swiss Army knife of our defense right now, you’re going to see him playing every position,” T.J. Watt said on The Pat McAfee Show last week. “Anytime those guys lock down for an extra half a second, we love it cuz it allows us to get to the quarterback.”
Four-time NFL MVP quarterback Aaron Rodgers also gave Ramsey a ringing endrosement by comparing him to a Hall of Famer.
“He’s a tempo violator in the walkthroughs,” Rodgers said during his media availability on Wednesday. “No, I like Jalen [Ramsey]. I have a ton of respect for him, what he’s accomplished in his career. He’s a very versatile guy. I was telling him, we were walking to the [cafeteria] one of these days and I was reminding him how Charles Woodson, late in his career, moved to safety.
“And there’s truly only a few elite guys who’ve done everything that he’s done, if you think about it. You can play outside corner and dominate. You can play nickel and dominate. And then go to safety and be a dominant player. I think he can do all three of those things.”
Slay, who is entering his 13th season, was originally drafted by the Detroit Lions in 2013. He played under the Steelers current defensive coordinator from 2014-2017. He was traded to Philadelphia in 2020 where he played a strong, steady presence in the Eagles’ secondary.
Last season, Steelers cornerback Joey Porter Jr. was the most penalized cornerback in the league, but having a Super Bowl champion to learn from in Slay could be beneficial.
Slay revealed in a interview with Mina Kimes of ESPN in the offseason that he wants to not only help fix Porter’s issues with penalties, but also improve his game in the interceptions department. Porter has only two INTs through his first two seasons.
“They say he can’t catch, but we’re gonna fix that,” Slay told Kimes. “We’re gonna catch the rock this year.”
Slay has recorded 28 interceptions in his decorated career. The 34-year-old cornerback is a Super...
