Staying grounded until earning role, Ahkello Witherspoon now blossoming with Steelers

In an era of athletes quitting teams and forcing trades, it would not have been unexpected to hear Ahkello Witherspoon was irked about what happened over his first 12 weeks with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

But leave it to the veteran cornerback to apply some much-needed, heartening perspective.

“Man, I had my daughter … Oct. 14,” Witherspoon said recently. “So you can imagine how my last few months have been. I have zero complaints.

“That baby’s healthy, that baby’s beautiful and I am thankful. Everything that comes after is just a product of that spirit.”

Playing time? Free-agent market value? An adjustment to new bosses or teammates, or even an unexpected sudden move across the country?

All secondary to Witherspoon.

And it has been the Steelers secondary that has ultimately benefited from that grounded, zen-like, calm in an intellectual package Witherspoon brings.

“He is a savvy, cerebral guy who has a very good above-the-neck game,” coach Mike Tomlin said. “And so (adjusting to a new team) ran with pretty good fluidity.”

For more than 2 ½ months, it didn’t appear that way from the outside.

From the time of his Sept. 3 acquisition via a trade with the Seattle Seahawks until a late-November Week 11 game, Witherspoon was on the field for exactly five plays.

Only four of those were on defense,and during the only one of those in which he was thrown to, the result was a 61-yard touchdown by the Las Vegas Raiders’ Henry Ruggs during a Week 2 loss.

Witherspoon was a healthy scratch for the next seven games. At that point, it appeared the fifth-round pick the Steelers submitted for his services was a waste.

The Steelers were deploying James Pierre and Justin Layne and practice-squad call-ups ahead of him.

Ahkello Witherspoon on the adjustment of getting traded to the Steelers at the end of camp and finally getting his biggest chance Sunday vs Balt pic.twitter.com/QYFeQCsFS0

— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) December 6, 2021

Tomlin, though, said things were never as bad as they appeared when it came to Witherspoon for two reasons. One, the adjustment period for a defensive back is rarely quick or seamless because of the complexities of modern calls and the differences in teams’ schemes.

Two, Witherspoon did not have a role on special teams.

“Oftentimes, that’s how a guy earns the right to get a helmet and the defense opportunities are borne out of their availability,” Tomlin said. “He really had to wait until a core defender was unavailable before we had the opportunity to work him on the field.”

His opportunity came via a foot injury to veteran Joe Haden. With Pierre struggling, the Steelers had to turn to Witherspoon for a Nov. 21 game at the Los Angeles Chargers. He held a limited role for two games before a virtual everydown role Dec. 5 against the Baltimore Ravens.

“He took off from there,” Tomlin said, “and obviously now that we have some video evidence of what he’s capable of, he’s no longer battling for the helmet week-in and week-out.”

It could be argued that Witherspoon was the Steelers’ best defensive back over the final month of the regular season and heading into Sunday night’s wild-card playoff game against the Kansas City Chiefs.

The data of Pro Football Focus suggests it’s not even close. It graded Witherspoon by far as the Steelers’ best cornerback for the season and had him 17th overall (10th in coverage) among the 134 CBs who played at least 235 defensive snaps.

Among those 134, Witherspoon had the second-best passer rating against when thrown to (48.0) and fourth-best reception percentage (catches divided by targets). Witherspoon committed no penalties and had three interceptions.

Ahkello Witherspoon— pic.twitter.com/6422nVKPhX

— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) January 4, 2022

“That time in the lab (when he was being scratched) and behind the scenes is really what propelled me to be able to come out and compete at the level that I’m competing right now,” Witherspoon said.

That level is high enough that the Steelers must be thinking about whether to bring Witherspoon back for 2022. Like Haden, he is an unrestricted free agent. Witherspoon turns 27 a week after free agency begins in mid-March.

Any anxiety Witherspoon might face about his future will probably be approached with the same attitude used two months ago when he wasn’t being activated for games by the Steelers.

“You just lean on loved ones,” Witherspoon said, “lean on coaching, on effort and on each other every day. And just know that controlling those things is really what will make it come to fruition.

“I’m just really thankful to have that guidance and mentors and people in my life that have taught me that approach instead of complaining, wondering, and worrying. Just control what you can control and lean on those benefits.”

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