Steelers 2-a-days: Healthy Stephon Tuitt can be star, Arrion Springs eyes spot in CB room

Editor’s note: Leading up to a unique Pittsburgh Steelers training camp staged at Heinz Field this year, the Tribune-Review will be running through the team’s 90-man roster, assessing each player’s outlook for the 2020 season. The breakdown will go through the roster, in mostly alphabetical order, two per day, between June 9 and July 23, a day that was originally planned to be reporting day for players to camp. (Contract data courtesy spotrac.com)

Undrafted rookie CB Arrion Springs has been turning heads at #ChiefsCamp because of plays just like this one.

Phenomenal shot by @Ev_nM. pic.twitter.com/gDDMOrehdH

— BJ Kissel (@ChiefsReporter) August 5, 2018

CB Arrion Springs

Experience: Time on NFL training-camp and practice-squad rosters in 2018-19; XFL this spring

Contract status: $610,000 cap hit in 2020, under contractual control for at least 4 seasons

2020 outlook: A three-year starter at Oregon, Springs was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Kansas City Chiefs in 2018. After being part of the Los Angeles Chargers organization last year, Springs ended up in the XFL. He was one of the few players who was traded in that short-lived league. Springs was one of nine XFL players signed by the Steelers.

Bottom line: One of 10 cornerbacks on the camp roster, Springs (5-foot-10, 204 pounds) will need to flash to stand out. It’s almost inconceivable to think he could crack the active roster, but with a little luck and if he makes some plays, the expanded practice squad in 2020 is an option. Undrafted rookies Trajan Bandy and James Pierre, a relative veteran (13 regular-season games over three seasons) in Breon Borders and a first-year holdover from the 2019 practice squad in Alexander Myres are competing against Springs for what is likely to be two practice-squad spots.

Replacing Stephon Tuitt on the defensive line won’t be tasked to one player, #Steelers coach Mike Tomlin acknowledged Wednesday https://t.co/SwpR9mmses

— Tribune-ReviewSports (@TribSports) October 17, 2019

DL Stephon Tuitt

Experience: 7th season

Contract status: $14.94 million cap hit in 2020, signed through 2022

2020 outlook: The holder of the Steelers’ third-biggest salary-cap figure this season, Tuitt might be one of the more important players on the roster. The depth of the defensive line took a hit with the loss of Javon Hargrave to free agency, but if Tuitt and Cameron Heyward stay healthy, they might be the best duo of 3-4 defensive linemen in the NFL. That’s been a problem for Tuitt throughout his career, though. He has missed 20 games over the past five seasons, including the final 10 last season because of a pectoral injury.

Bottom line: When Tuitt has been 100%, he has played at a Pro Bowl level. Nagging injuries have limited his effectiveness over the years, though, even when not on injured reserve. Hargrave was one of only two primary contributors from what was one of the NFL’s best defenses last season who is not back. But if the Steelers finally get a full 16 games out of Tuitt, that’s probably a trade they make.

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