As it stands, safety Mike Mitchell and cornerback Cortez Allen, who played exactly one game this year with a knee injury, are the only defensive backs with extended starter's experience under contract. The Steelers still have one more year with safety
Shamarko Thomas, who was groomed for the job but couldn't hold onto it.
Re-signing Gay would be an easy decision. Coaches trust him. He has value here, and he should be available at a reasonable clip. My sense is Boykin will want a fresh start somewhere else. Perhaps they bring Blake back but he could be the odd man out. Do the Steelers see Golden as a starter? That's a question that would affect Allen. The team might be reluctant to re-sign both if that's the case. If Golden is viewed mostly as a special-teams standout, Allen might return a valuable swing safety who would help groom a draft pick.
I wouldn't be surprised to see an opening-day corner rotation of Gay, Golson and a rangy, athletic draft pick from the first two rounds. Cortez Allen is the wild card. As ESPN's Bill Barnwell pointed out, the
Steelers can save $4.4 million by cutting Allen as a post-June 1 release. I don't think he's done, but he might be done in Pittsburgh because of the cap savings.
Signing a good cover-corner free agent such as
Janoris Jenkins seems like a prudent decision, but the Steelers rarely go that route. Perhaps the Boykin trade in the preseason shows they are willing to take more shots in that regard.
If the Steelers want to jump from good to great, they'll need to develop or sign at least one elite cornerback. Once they figure out how to do that, they can game-plan for their free agents.
Mike Tomlin has work to do.
"I’m open to any mix that will put us in the best position to win," said Tomlin about his roster.
Our secondary BETTER look completely different next year. IMO you keep Boykin and Mitchell... maybe Gay and switch him to safety once you draft corners in the first and second round.
I would also look at trading Wheaton depending on what you can get for him. Love him as a player but you're going to have to pay Brown, Bell too if you choose to keep him in the next two years. Might as well get something for him instead of just letting him walk like we did Sanders.
