Sep 14, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Darius Slay (23) in action against the Seattle Seahawks during the third quarter at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Steelers CB Leaves Colts Game After Painful Injury

Originally posted on Pittsburgh Steelers on SI
By Jack Markowski | Last updated Nov 2, 2025 1:28 PM ET

The Pittsburgh Steelers ' secondary, which came into Week 9 with a long list of injuries, saw another key member of the group go down during the first quarter of their matchup against the Indianapolis Colts.

Cornerback Darius Slay Jr. remained down on the field after helping Payton Wilson finish off a tackle of Colts wide receiver Josh Downs at Pittsburgh's own 8-yard line.

Slay appeared to be in a lot of pain, walking back to the medical tent with trainers while holding his hand. Steelers senior director of communications Burt Lauten has announced that he is questionable to return to the game.

#Steelers CB Darius Slay has a hand injury and is questionable to return to today's game.
— Burt Lauten (@SteelersPRBurt) November 2, 2025

Slay's 2025 Injuries

Though he hasn't missed an entire game for the Steelers up to this point in the season, Slay has dealt with a number of different afflictions.

He first suffered an ankle injury back during training camp in August, but his availability for the regular season was not affected.

Slay later sustained a shoulder injury against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 2 that also didn't result in any missed time before suffering a leg contusion against the New England Patriots in Week 3.

He also appeared to injure his side while covering Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Jordan Addison during Week 4 in Dublin, Ireland. While the 34-year-old left the game for a short amount of time, he would return soon after and remain on the field throughout the rest of the contest.

Slay then sustained a shoulder injury when the Steelers took on the Cleveland Browns at Acrisure Stadium in Week 6, but it didn't affect his status for the team's following game vs. the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 7.

Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images

Impact of Slay's Injury

While the rest of Pittsburgh's cornerback room is relatively healthy outside of Slay, injuries at the sfatey position have changed the alignment of the team's secondary.

Jalen Ramsey is set to exclusively line up at safety vs. Indianapolis while Kyle Dugger, who the team acquired from the New England Patriots earlier this week, is starting opposite of him.

The team's decision to play Ramsey at safety comes after DeShon Elliott was placed on the reserve/injured list with a knee injury while Chuck Clark (illness) and Jabrill Peppers (quadricep) were also ruled out for today's contest.

As a result, the Steelers were set to have Slay and Joey Porter Jr. primarily handle the boundary duties at corner while Brandin Echols played out of the slot.

With Slay now sidelined with his hand injury, however, Pittsburgh may have to get creative in how it deploys its personnel. The only other active cornerback on the Steelers' roster is James Pierre, but the team could choose to utilize Juan Thornhill more if they feel moving Ramsey back to corner is the right decision for the time being.

This article first appeared on Pittsburgh Steelers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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