The Pittsburgh Steelers are preparing to debut their starting secondary in the preseason finale against the Carolina Panthers on Thursday night, according to head coach Mike Tomlin. The group, which includes cornerbacks Darius Slay and Joey Porter Jr., as well as Jalen Ramsey and safety DeShon Elliott, has not played in the first two preseason games.
Tomlin stated that defensive tackle Cameron Heyward, outside linebacker T.J. Watt, quarterback Aaron Rodgers, and wide receiver DK Metcalf will not participate in the game. “Everyone else is under consideration,” Tomlin said after practice. “They’re preparing as if they’re going to play.”
He added that decisions about playing time could be influenced by who takes the field for Carolina: “There are a lot of variables in it, who’s playing for Carolina and things of that nature that might provide worthy competition,” Tomlin said. “But as I sit here today all healthy outside of the four that I mentioned are preparing and scheduled to play.
“We’ll get to the stadium and we’ll see what’s happening on the other side and we may alter that in some ways. But I’m hopeful that we get an opportunity to play, particularly in the secondary. I’m not worried about the overall readiness of the collective. I just think cohesion is such a major component of what they do, the ability to communicate, communicate in-stadium.
“It’s the same reason why our young offensive front has been working. Obviously, they lack collective experience that we have in the secondary, and so they’ve played through some. But I am excited about maybe seeing that secondary in a stadium.”
Players recovering from injuries may still have a chance to participate if cleared before kickoff. Outside linebacker Alex Highsmith, cornerback Donte Kent, wide receiver Calvin Austin III and others are being evaluated ahead of Thursday’s game.
“We’ll make an 11th-hour decision on those guys,” Tomlin said. “We’re always going to be inclusive this time of year because we realize the scarcity of the opportunities.
“If proven health enough we’ll give those that have missed time an opportunity to play. And a lot of those judgments or at least some of this judgments could come down to pregame work.”
Tomlin emphasized his approach is based on current evaluations: “We were living a week at a time,” he said. “I made the decision based on the here and now.”
He also discussed his interest in seeing how well his new-look secondary works together during live action: “There’s a fine line between ‘eager’ and ‘need,'” Tomlin said. “There’s a collective component, a communication component, a coordination component to what they do.
“If they get an opportunity to get some snaps versus some really capable people in the stadium we’d appreciate it.”
All four players sitting out—Heyward, Watt, Rodgers and Metcalf—have yet to appear this preseason. Heyward did take part in individual and team drills at practice.
Rodgers is expected to make his Steelers debut when Pittsburgh opens its regular season against the New York Jets on September 7 along with Metcalf.
“I’m comfortable with what I’m seeing out here,” Tomlin said regarding Rodgers’ progress toward opening day readiness. “If I weren’t, obviously, I’d be playing him.”
