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The Pittsburgh Steelers made some big roster moves this offseason. They traded for DK Metcalf, traded away George Pickens, signed Aaron Rodgers, and then traded for Jalen Ramsey and Jonnu Smith. The moves were all made to help reshape this roster after it got stale near the end of the year, despite making the postseason.
Jalen Ramsey and Darius Slay were brought in to add much-needed experience to the secondary. Joey Porter Jr. is a younger cornerback who, after being drafted in 2023, has started his career playing very well and started for the Steelers last season. Recently, Richard Sherman was on Not Just Football with Cam Heyward, and he talked about how, despite the Steelers’ talent, one of the most significant issues might be dealing with the egos in the room.
Sherman said, “That’s what I would be concerned about if I’m Tomlin. It’s just because you have a young kid who’s been established with this team, but you also have two significant alphas who have been established in this league for a long time. You know what I mean? It’s a hierarchy, and sometimes egos get in the way of a hierarchy.
“If everybody’s respectful, if everybody can understand it, and everybody shows a lot of respect and holds each other to the standard, I don’t think there’ll be any problem. But sometimes ego is the enemy of greatness, you know. So, no, for sure. And I think deeply that Pittsburgh’s defense is one thing I love about it. Y’all have an excellent defense.”
Porter Jr. earned the starting spot in the Steelers’ secondary after Patrick Peterson retired from the NFL. He has been solid in that role ever since and has continued to grow and develop. Sherman’s point is that Ramsey and Slay are prominent personalities who have had success in the league, so they have egos that come with that, and they might not like being behind a younger player in the secondary.
They might have to deal with it because the Steelers are so well-run, thanks to Mike Tomlin as head coach. If Ramsey and Slay start having issues with the rotation, Tomlin will listen to them, but they will probably not change much.
Slay was released by the Philadelphia Eagles and signed with the Steelers, despite losing a step. In comparison, Ramsey still has elite talent, but has been dealing with injuries recently. If Tomlin and the Steelers can get the rotation sorted out, then this secondary has a chance to be one of the best in the NFL, especially after they locked up T.J. Watt to hold down the defensive line.
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