Steelers Get New Competition for Safety

The Pittsburgh Steelers need a safety. After trading Minkah Fitzpatrick to the Miami Dolphins in exchange for Jalen Ramsey and Jonnu Smith, it made Juan Thornhill thier starter with almost no true backup behind him.

They'll likely add to the position before Week 1. It doesn't have to happen today, but chances are, they realize they need help before the regular season starts. Thankfully their are answers, but with the news of Tyrann Mathieu calling it a career before camp, their competition is growing.

With the New Orleans Saints loss of Mathieu, the Steelers now have another team to worry about when deciding how to approach their safety position. Names like Justin Simmons, Quandre Diggs, Jordan Whitehead and Marcus Williams remain free agents, and will likely sign before the season. Until now, the Steelers felt like the biggest landing spot possible.

They likely still hold a leg over the Saints. New Orleans is turning to a second round rookie at quarterback ins Tyler Shough and have lost a number of big names to retirement. Pittsburgh, on the other hand, will have Aaron Rodgers at quarterback and stacked their defense with Ramsey, Darius Slay and rookie Derrick Harmon this spring.

But they can't wait around. The longer they go without signing a safety, the greater their chances grow of not getting the one they want. And after the additions they made this offseason, waiting for whatever option is left over makes no sense.

The Steelers added Rodgers and then didn't hold back. DK Metcalf, Ramsey, Slay, Smith, all names the team went out to grab in order to make them contenders this season. They now have a glaring hole at safety and no options to fill it. They have free agents they can sign, with names that could come in and immediately compete for a starting job.

Moving fast allows them to have options. Waiting may leave them second-guessing why they didn't act fast. And the Saints now add pressure to that decision.