Editor’s note: From now until the first practice of training camp at Saint Vincent, the Trib will run through the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 90-man roster, assessing each player’s outlook for the season. The breakdown will go through the roster in mostly alphabetical order, (at least) two per day, between June 14 and July 26.
CB ALEXANDER MYRES
Experience: Rookie
Contract status: $495,000 cap hit in 2019, under contractual control for four accrued seasons
2019 outlook: Myres was reportedly the most sought-after player the Steelers signed in the frenzied minutes at the end of the draft. A two-year starter at Houston, Myres was considered a possible late-round draft pick. And although the Steelers took Justin Layne in the third round, over the past decade they often have taken two cornerbacks in the draft. Myres had a reputation as a hard hitter and good tackler, attributes Steelers defensive coordinator Keith Butler is drawn to in cornerbacks. The cornerback depth chart is a tough one to crack for an undrafted rookie, but Myres’ special-teams pedigree will give him a fighting chance at the roster.
Watching Tulane-Houston. Shout out to Alexander Myres for absolutely destroying Tulane's left tackle on a UH interception. That's over 100 pound difference between the two pic.twitter.com/z3MWv47t02
— Joe Broback (@joebroback) February 24, 2019
CB STEVEN NELSON
Experience: 5th season
Contract status: $4 million cap hit in 2019, first of three-year deal in which cap hits spike dramatically
2019 outlook: After years of misses in drafting cornerbacks, the Steelers have turned to veteran free agents to fill holes in the secondary. Joe Haden was an outlier as a No. 1-caliber corner who was available in late August. Nelson was a more traditional free-agent signing, one who happens to have gotten the biggest contract in Steelers history for another team’s unrestricted free agent. Nelson played more snaps than any cornerback in the NFL last season (in part a function of the Chiefs’ high-powered and quick-strike offense), and his Pro Football Focus rating improved each of his first four NFL seasons. Nelson is plug-and-play on the outside opposite of Haden. Nelson’s contract was structured, though, in a way that will make it easy for the Steelers to decide to cut bait next spring if his 2019 play isn’t up to snuff.
Steven Nelson holds the distinction of earning the biggest contract the #Steelers have given to an outside unrestricted free agent in their history https://t.co/FvClKEDvOa
— Tribune-ReviewSports (@TribSports) May 27, 2019
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