Three of the Steelers who will start in the secondary Sunday against the New York Jets were reserves at the beginning of the season. Cornerbacks William Gay and Brice McCain and safety Will Allen have something else in common.
All three were released from NFL teams within the past two years.
The Steelers might not be the Salvation Army, but they take in players who were cast aside by others and fit them into their system as well as any NFL team. It has been a specialty of longtime defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau.
Gay and McCain have flourished since entering the starting lineup because of Ike Taylor’s injury and Cortez Allen’s benching, and LeBeau will be looking for the same from Allen, who will make his first start this season in place of injured Troy Polamalu.
“All of us have played before,” McCain said. “All of us have started somewhere else. We’ve been in the game for a long time. We’ve all learned from experience. We’re veteran guys. We’ve played in almost every system, so we can jump in and play right away. My hats off to Coach LeBeau for recognizing it as well as [Kevin Colbert] and Coach [Mike] Tomlin for recognizing us and putting us in the game and trusting us.”
McCain was released by the Houston Texans after 2013 with two years remaining on a three-year contract. He was signed by the Steelers for the bargain rate of $730,000 on a one-year contract. He was inserted into the starting lineup when Cortez Allen struggled in coverage.
McCain has not just filled in, he has thrived. He had a 22-yard interception for a touchdown in the 17-9 victory in Jacksonville and a 26-yard fumble return last week against the Ravens that set up another touchdown.
Gay is in his second stint with the Steelers. He played with them from 2007 until 2011 before signing a two-year contract with the Arizona Cardinals. He started 15 games in 2012 with the Cardinals, who promptly released him after the season rather than pay him $3.2 million in salary.
Gay wasn’t out of work for long. The Steelers quickly signed him, and he has been the team’s best cornerback the past two years. He started 11 games last season and finished the year as the No. 9 cornerback in the league, according to Pro Football Focus. He was inserted into the starting lineup again this season after Ike Taylor was injured in the third game. Once again, he is playing well, with a No. 15 ranking out of 109 cornerbacks.
Will Allen, an 11-year veteran, played for the Steelers from 2010-12. He signed a one-year contract with Dallas last year and started the first five games before getting released. He was back at the Steelers practice facility the day after he was cut and played the final 12 games of the season for the Steelers.
The Steelers don’t expect much of a drop-off at strong safety. When Allen filled in at safety last season, he came up with an interception and fumble recovery in consecutive weeks against the Detroit Lions and Cleveland Browns.
“You cannot have too many good football players,” LeBeau said. “I know only 11 can be on the field at a time, but all of those guys in that defensive room know before the year is over they’ll be in the game and playing the majority of the snaps in that game. A veteran player like Will, every place he’s been, he’s done the job. He’s a pro.”
Allen has remained ahead of Shamarko Thomas on the depth chart since last season, even though the Steelers invested a fourth-round draft pick in Thomas in 2013. Veterans are not just holding off younger players in the secondary. It’s happening all over the defense.
Outside linebacker James Harrison, at 36, is producing at such a rate that it will be hard for 2013 first-round pick Jarvis Jones to play a lot when he returns from injury. Harrison spent last season in Cincinnati and had the least-productive season of his illustrious career. Now he is producing again, with four sacks in the past two games.
Defensive end Brett Keisel, also 36, is getting more snaps and producing more than rookie second-round pick Stephon Tuitt. He chose the Steelers over the Arizona Cardinals in late August, but he didn’t have any other offers in the offseason.
The get-back-together gang is a testament to the importance LeBeau places on familiarity with the system and doing things a certain way. Allen offered another reason why players can return and play at a high level after being dismissed by other teams.
“We want to play for Dick LeBeau,” Allen said. “That’s a key component of it. It’s fun. He changes things up, allows us to make plays, puts us in position to make plays.
“We want to play for the Pittsburgh Steelers, and we all want to play for each other. I just think the group we have here and the guys who have been through the system before us and set the foundation and the current guys, we all understand the responsibility of what it means to put on a Steelers uniform.
“We want to leave a legacy and play hard. It’s a lot of fun doing it and doing it together.”
First Published: November 8, 2014, 5:00 a.m.
