NFL Rumors: 3 Steelers who need a preseason miracle to avoid the cut line
- A veteran cornerback is likely on his way out
- Former draft pick probably getting pushed out
- Franchise staple's time has come to an end
The Pittsburgh Steelers will conclude their preseason play before 30 other NFL teams as they face the Falcons on Thursday night. We should see some action from Kenny Pickett and the starters but, in actuality, the third and final preseason game is really the last-gasp effort for players buried on the depth chart to earn a roster spot -- or even come close in some cases.
It's been an offseason of big changes and upgrades for the Steelers. They massively upgraded the defense in free agency, traded up in the first round to improve the offensive line by drafting Broderick Jones, and made a litany of other moves. Now it's time to see those improvements also shake out on the field.
Those improvements, however, are likely to push some familiar faces out of Pittsburgh when cut-down day arrives. Unless they pull out a miracle on Thursday night, these three Steelers are on their way out with this organization.
NFL Rumors: 3 Steelers who need a miracle to get off cut line
3. James Pierre, DB
One of the big focus areas for the Steelers in terms of their offseason acquisitions was overhauling the secondary. They used a second-round pick on a franchise legacy, cornerback Joey Porter Jr., signed veterans Patrick Peterson and Chandon Sullivan, and simply made sure that area would no longer be an issue.
That was always highlighted as a potential hurdle for 2020 undrafted free agent signing James Pierre to make the 53-man roster. Now that appears to be coming to fruition.
Even at the start of training camp, the talk about Pierre was not exceptionally positive. While the injury to seventh-round rookie Cory Trice Jr. that landed him on IR seemingly made some room for Pierre, his performance hasn't backed that up.
Pierre has made an impact in terms of filling up the box score, registering 12 tackles over two preseason games, but his coverage ability has remained a bit of an issue, which it has been in limited usage to this point in his career. Now with proven veterans and higher-upside young players ahead of him, the road to playing anything more than a special teams role would be hard to find -- and there may be better options there too.
Unless the former Florida Atlantic star turns heads in a major way on Thursday night, this seems like it might be the end of the line for him, even after the Steelers re-signed him in March.