This offseason, the Pittsburgh Steelers have already started implementing adjustments.
Immediately following the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl victory, the Pittsburgh Steelers began to release players.
With Mitch Trubisky, Pressley Harvin III, and Chukwuma Okorafor gone, the Steelers tried to free up some cap room for the 2024 offseason.
Over $12 million in cap space was made available by the changes.
When free agency begins next month, that space should ultimately be used to acquire reinforcements elsewhere on the team.
One of the positions that could be addressed with that cap space is cornerback.
Steelers Nation’s Parker Abate has a name in mind for who they could go after. Abate believes the team could pursue Tennessee Titans corner Sean Murphy-Bunting in free agency.
Murphy-Bunting spent the 2023 season with the Titans after four years with the Buccaneers and could once again be looking for a change of scenery in 2024.
A Tough Year in Tennessee
Murphy-Bunting became the odd man out in the Buccaneers corner back group during the 2022 season.
He started just five games as Carlton Davis III and Jamel Dean were the team’s preferred option at the position.
That left him looking for a new home when his contract expired at the end of the season and he found that new home with the Titans.
He was signed to a $3.5 million, one-year contract to help them address their pass defensive problems.
Unfortunately, not much was accomplished by the transfer. In 2022, the club allowed 7.4 yards per attempt; in 2023, that number dropped to 7.3.
Murphy-Bunting wasn’t all that terrific on her own. In his one season with the Titans, he was able to intercept two passes, but he also gave opposition quarterbacks the opportunity to complete 65.2% of the passes that were thrown to him.
Despite making 57 tackles and defending 8 passes during the season, he was unquestionably not the improvement the Titans had hoped for at the position.
Nevertheless, he might provide the Steelers with a necessity without breaking the bank.
Steelers’ Corner Needs
The Steelers need an upgrade at corner during the 2024 offseason.
Drafting Joey Porter Jr. fixed half of the issues they were dealing with heading into last offseason.
However, Patrick Peterson didn’t fix the other half as he was expected to.
His age started to catch up with him and he began struggling in coverage on the outside because of his declining speed.
He found some success at safety, but isn’t expected to be the team’s answer as the second corner next season. There is even the possibility he still gets released after making it through the team’s first round of cuts.
They could also re-sign Levi Wallace, but he is more of a depth option than a starter.
In the 2023 season, Pittsburgh gave up the tenth-most yards per passing attempt.
They will need that to get better if they hope to compete in a competitive division in 2024.
They can deal with the problem in a number of ways. With the 20th choice in the draft, they may select a good cornerback from the talented class of 2024.
Moreover, two well-known players at the position—Jaylon Johnson and La’Jarius Sneed—may be eligible for free agency.
The Steelers need some assistance at cornerback during the 2024 offseason, no matter how they choose to go about it.
