Steelers positional analysis: Cornerback stability tested with Donte Jackson set for free agency

This is the 10th part of a series examining the Pittsburgh Steelers’ roster, position by position, heading into the offseason.

Today: Cornerbacks

When the Pittsburgh Steelers acquired cornerback Donte Jackson from Carolina in March, they swapped one player entering the final year of his contract for another.

The Steelers paid $6 million to Jackson for the final year of a three-year, $35 million contract he signed with the Panthers in 2022. The Panthers took on the last year of wide receiver Diontae Johnson’s deal with the Steelers.

Whereas Johnson has bounced from Carolina to Baltimore to Houston and back to Baltimore again, Jackson would prefer his relationship with the Steelers to extend beyond a one-year rental.

Set to hit free agency in March, the 29-year-old Jackson said earlier this month that he wants to sign a deal with the Steelers.

“I hope I’m back,” Jackson said on teammate Christian Kuntz’s podcast. “Just grateful to be in this spot, to be able to sign a third contract. Because guys don’t get to two. It’s a blessing just to be able to set myself up to sign (a third) is awesome. It’s a huge opportunity for me and my family. We hope we’re back.”

Jackson and inside linebacker Elandon Roberts are the starters on defense set to hit free agency. The Steelers have Payton Wilson in place to fill Roberts’ spot, but they have no such luxury at cornerback.

Joey Porter Jr., who will be entering his third NFL season, is the only player with regular starting experience on the roster at the outside corner spot. Along with Jackson, Cameron Sutton and James Pierre also will be free agents in March.

Porter continued in his role as a matchup corner, but he led the Steelers for a second year in a row with 10 penalties. He also was flagged twice in the wild-card playoff loss to Baltimore.

The other returning players under contract for 2025 include former seventh-rounder Cory Trice Jr., who struggled when asked to match up against Cincinnati’s Ja’Marr Chase in Week 18, and slot corner Beanie Bishop. The Steelers also signed three corners to reserve/futures deals.

Trice has the size — he’s 6-foot-3, 206 pounds — to develop into a press corner. Bishop had four interceptions, including two in a win against the New York Jets, but his playing time dwindled late in the season as the Steelers relied more on Sutton to fill the slot role. Sutton played 43% of the defensive snaps and started two games after sitting out the first eight games because of a suspension.

Jackson missed two games late in the season because of a back injury, and that might have contributed to his dip in play as the Steelers slid from 10-3 to a 10-7 finish and another wild-card round playoff exit.

Jackson was surprised at how swiftly his first season with the Steelers ended when they were bounced by the Ravens in a 28-14 loss.

“You can’t put it into words,” he said. “Everybody wished they could have played better. I wished I could have done some things better. It’s a terrible feeling.”

Time will tell if the Steelers elect to pursue re-signing Jackson or take a flier in free agency. Some of the best corners set to hit the market include Minnesota’s Byron Murphy, the New York Jets’ D.J. Reed and Detroit’s Carlton Davis III.

The draft class is viewed as deep with early-round talent.

Under contract: Joey Porter Jr. ($2.623 million cap hit), Cory Trice Jr. ($1.051 million), Beanie Bishop ($968,333), D’Shawn Jamison ($960,000), Kyler McMichael ($840,000), Cameron McCutcheon ($840,000)

Impending free agents: Donte Jackson, Cameron Sutton, C.J. Henderson, James Pierre

Outside perspective: Pro Football Focus, on the Steelers being a landing spot for free agent D.J. Reed of the Jets: “Reed enters free agency after notching his sixth straight season with an overall grade above 70.0, accomplishing the feat across three different franchises. In 2024, he recorded a 51.28% lockdown rate, continuing a trend of standout play that defined his time in New York, where he ranked in the 91st percentile among outside cornerbacks over three seasons. … Pairing him with rising star Joey Porter Jr. could solidify their secondary and enable the Steelers to maintain their aggressive defensive identity.”