The Steelers will cut ties with their primary slot cornerback from last season. They informed Arthur Maulet he will be released, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports.
This move comes just more than a week after the team agreed to terms with veteran slot defender Chandon Sullivan, who will come to Pittsburgh after a year in Minnesota. Maulet, 29, spent the past two seasons with the Steelers, joining the AFC North team after bouncing around the league early in his career.
Pittsburgh re-signed Maulet to a two-year, $3.83M contract in March 2022 and used him frequently in the slot last season. Although Pro Football Focus rated Maulet as slightly better than Sullivan in 2022, the rankings difference was negligible (90th and 96th, respectively). The six-year veteran did improve on his coverage numbers in 2022, allowing a 61.5% completion rate (down from 75.9% in 2021) and dropped his passer rating number — as the closest defender — from 119.0 to 105.5. But Sullivan is now in place as the expected Steelers slot player.
Maulet’s signing comprised part of a low-cost Steelers corner corps last season. Neither he nor Cameron Sutton, Levi Wallace and Ahkello Witherspoon made more than $5M. The team has since made some changes at the position, adding Sullivan, Patrick Peterson and second-round pick Joey Porter Jr. Wallace and Witherspoon remain on the roster, each going into the final year of their respective contracts. Sutton signed with the Lions on Day 1 of the legal tampering period.
A former Saints UDFA, Maulet has played for four teams over the course of his career. The 5-foot-10 cover man spent time with the Colts and Jets prior to his Steelers stay, starting 11 Jets games — at both corner and safety — from 2019-20. He joined the Steelers in May 2021. Last season, Maulet made a career-high 59 tackles, registered two sacks and intercepted a pass. He played a career-high 481 defensive snaps last year. As a vested veteran, Maulet will immediately hit free agency after this release.
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