Just as he was about the team trading Diontae Johnson, former Pittsburgh Steelers executive Doug Whaley isn’t thrilled with the team’s handling of the cornerback room. Signing Cam Sutton appeared to be their answer to fill the slot role but hit with a hefty eight-game suspension, the team must find an alternative to him for the first half of the year. To Whaley, these moves without true replacements signal the wrong motives.
“Those two moves right there. It almost comes to me like they made those decisions personal,” Whaley said on 93.7 The Fan Wednesday morning. “Like, ‘We want Diontae Johnson out [of] here ’cause we don’t like what he does, brings the locker room. We have a back story with him, Cam Sutton. Let’s bring him back. We can save him.'”
“Once you start making things personal, man, that’s not a good thing. And what’s the famous saying? It’s not personal. It’s business. You gotta make business decisions, not personal decisions. And those two feel to me more personal than business.”
Pittsburgh traded Diontae Johnson early in free agency, sending him to the Carolina Panthers for CB Donte Jackson and a late round pick swap. Jackson should serve as a No. 2 corner opposite Joey Porter Jr. but talent-wise, he’s a drop-off from Johnson. It seems Johnson was dealt for reasons Whaley alluded to, the team unhappy with his fit in the locker room. After the season, Mike Tomlin made it a point to note team culture would be addressed in the Steelers’ offseason plans.
Whaley offered a similar critique last month, believing the Steelers traded Johnson too soon, backing the team “in the corner.”
Tomlin leaned on his prior experience with Sutton, drafting him in 2017, as the reason why he and the organization were comfortable signing him despite domestic battery allegations and a looming suspension. While he might help the team later in the year, the team is back to the drawing board the first eight weeks. Yet again, the Steelers enter a season uncertain at slot corner or if the job will ultimately be won by someone not even on this roster.
“So you have two positions that you were thin at already. That you’ve made actually extra thin,” Whaley said.
The battles for the Steelers’ No. 2 receiver and slot corner jobs sit near the top of the list of things to watch for once Pittsburgh reports to training camp two weeks from today. Perhaps they’re not the most critical positions, the play at quarterback and overall health of the run game matter more, but if the Steelers want to maximize their season, these weaknesses must be addressed.
It’s fair to question the team’s plan and moves that led it to this point though assuming Pittsburgh is acting personally is a weighty charge for Whaley to make.
