Pittsburgh Steelers make decision at safety position for 2022
The Pittsburgh Steelers have the pieces in place to have another top-tier defense in 2022, minus voids in the secondary.
There’s no question Minkah Fitzpatrick will be playing one of the safety positions, but the Steelers — who are also dealing with salary cap issues and turnover at both general manager and defensive coordinator — have some key decisions to make.
On Thursday, the organization added a low-cost safety blanket by re-signing former first-round safety Karl Joseph, who joined the organization last season but spent most of the year on the practice squad. Joesph did finally make the 53-man roster for the Pittsburgh Steelers for two games, recording just 17 snaps on defense and 14 on special teams.
This is the kind of move that feels like insurance at the Steelers’ brass continues to mull over options to start opposite of Fitzpatrick.
With starting strong safety Terrell Edmunds— who has been inconsistent since selected in the first-round out of Virginia Tech but had his best season in 2021 — still unsigned as an unrestricted free agent, fans want the Steelers to replace him in the lineup with Kansas City Chiefs free-agent safety Tyrann Mathieu.
According to ESPN’S Jeremy Fowler, the Steelers are considering the “Honey Badger,” but it feels like a stretch.
Mathieu, Damontae Kazee and bringing back Terrell Edmunds are the three viable options for the Pittsburgh Steelers based on reports.
Fowler described the Mathieu interest as “chatter,” but there is no denying he and Fitzpatrick would immediately form the most formidable safety pairing in the league.
“(Mathieu) plays with the kind of edge that would seamlessly fit in Pittsburgh,” Fowler wrote.
A three-time All-Pro, Mathieu has spent that last three season as Kansas City’s primary defensive playmaker. He has 17 takeaways individually in the last three years with the Chiefs alone.
As of now, Steelers fans would be thrilled for Mathieu and it feels like the team is hesitant to commit to Edmunds long-term.
Still, Pittsburgh Steelers fans may feel hope as NFL Insider Ian Rapoport recently reported Mathieu is exploring the market, although nearly every team could be a fit for his level of talent.
“My understanding is that he is going to test the market,” Rapoport shared at the NFL combine. “There’s a chance that he’s back in Kansas City but they have so many priorities. I know he’s a huge, huge part of their time so, we’ll see what kind of competition they get from elsewhere. Still can play at a really high level but really it’s the leadership that he could bring to any locker room. He’s going to be coveted, probably breaks double digits for his next salary.”