It’s starting to happen again. The Steelers’ best-laid plans to rebuild their secondary are being hampered by injuries in training camp.
In previous years, it has forced general manager Kevin Colbert to trade for corner depth and search the waiver wire to find enough quality corners to stock the 53-man roster. The Steelers traded for Brandon Boykin and picked up Ross Cockrell off waivers in 2015. A year ago, they traded for Justin Gilbert. Only Cockrell remains on the roster.
So far this year the only move they have made is to add JaCorey Shepherd, a former sixth-round pick of the Philadelphia Eagles, who was a street free agent before being signed last week. They did that a week into camp after Senquez Golson, Cameron Sutton and Artie Burns went down with injuries.
Golson and Sutton have been out for a week or more and don’t appear close to returning. Neither player has done any conditioning work on the side at practices, which is usually a sign injured players are making progress.
Both players were candidates to replace William Gay in the slot when training camp got underway. The Steelers had high hopes for Sutton in particular. Sutton, a rookie third-round pick, flashed his ball-hawking and man-coverage skills in spring practices.
Friday night, Burns left practice with an apparent knee injury and has not practiced since. None of the injuries are being talked about as season-threatening at this point, but the larger issue for the Steelers is young players missing valuable practice time.
Sutton’s rookie camp is starting to mirror what Burns went through a year ago. The Steelers chose Burns in the first round with designs on him starting as a rookie. He eventually did halfway through the season, mostly because a quad injury kept him out of most of training camp.
Now Sutton appears to be in the same predicament. If he doesn’t return soon — and there is no indication he will — any hope of him pushing Gay for playing time early in the season will go by the wayside.
Golson’s hamstring injury is even more worrisome from his standpoint. A second-round pick in 2015, Golson is in danger of not making the team because this is his third injury in as many years that has prevented him from participating in camp.
Injuries aren’t just wreaking havoc at corner. Starting free safety Mike Mitchell exited the first practice with an injury and hasn’t practiced since.
This was the first-team defensive backfield the past few days: Robert Golden and Sean Davis at safety and Coty Sensabaugh and Cockrell at corner. And it could remain that way Friday night when the Steelers play the preseason opener against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.
Sensabaugh is the latest outsider brought in to bolster the depth at corner. He was signed to a two-year contract in March after a topsy-turvy 2016 season that saw him sign a three-year, $15 million contract with the Rams, get cut after four games and then finish the season with the Giants.
“It’s unfortunate we’ve had so many guys, especially defensive backs, get hurt,” Sensabaugh said. “That’s just part of the game. You just have to continue competing and continue playing.”
Sensabaugh has played only outside corner for the Steelers since he arrived. He played mostly in the slot in his first two seasons in Tennessee before adding slot duties with the Titans in his third and fourth seasons. In his short stint with the Rams, he was strictly outside and he switched back to slot corner when the Giants picked him up last season.
With Golson and Sutton injured, the Steelers have been using Mike Hilton, who does not have any NFL experience, as the backup slot corner. Depending how the injuries shake out and the roster takes shape, Sensabaugh could be a candidate to move inside if needed.
“I’ve been outside since I’ve been here,” Sensabaugh said. “There really hasn’t been any discussion. I’ve just done what they’ve asked so far. If that’s what they ask me [moving to slot], I’m going to do that to the best of my ability just like I’m doing on the outside now. Whatever I can do to help this team win I’m all for it.”
Unfortunately for the Steelers, making adjustments in the secondary on the fly is something they’ve become quite familiar with over the past few years.
Ray Fittipaldo: rfittipaldo@post-gazette.com and Twitter @rayfitt1.
First Published: August 7, 2017, 3:13 p.m.
