Steelers All 90: CB Levi Wallace Adds Battle-Tested Starting Experience
All 90 is a Steelers Now series profiling each of the 90 members of the Pittsburgh Steelers 2022 offseason roster.
29 • Levi Wallace, fifth-year safety, Alabama
6-foot, 179 pounds, 26 years old
Acquired: The Steelers signed Levi Wallace to a two-year free-agent contract on March 17.
Last season: Started all 17 games at outside cornerback for the Buffalo Bills, the second time in his career he started all of his team’s games. Wallace was second on the Buffalo defense with 994 snaps, playing in 92% of the team’s defensive plays. He became the No. 1 cornerback down the stretch run after an injury to Tre’Davious White.
Wallace finished the season with 58 tackles, one for a loss, two interceptions, a career-high 10 passes defended and one fumble recovery.
Career: Wallace’s career with the Bills after joining the club as an undrafted free agent in 2018 was frequently of him earning an unexpected role, the team attempting to find a way to replace him, and continually being unable.
Cut coming out of training camp as a rookie, Wallace ended up on the practice squad, but was called up to the active roster in November and became a starter. In 2019 and 2020, the Bills tried to replace him with Kevin Johnson and Josh Norman, but he continued to re-gain his starting role.
College: Originally a walk-on, Wallace did not play in his first two seasons at Alabama. He earned a scholarship before his third season with the Tide in 2016.
He placed six games that season and then became a starter in 2017, recording 48 tackles, 4.5 for a loss, two sacks and three interceptions, one for a touchdown.
Camp outlook: Wallace played almost exclusively outside with the Bills, and the Pittsburgh Steelers didn’t sign him to sit on the bench, so it seems as if Plan A is to have Wallace and Ahkello Witherspoon play outside while Cam Sutton shifts back inside.
But of course, there’s a long way to go from the Plan A of the early offseason to the season opener, and there are plenty of secondary permutations for the Steelers coaches to try out at training camp.
Future: Wallace signed a two-year contract worth $8 million that runs through the end of the 2023 season.
The rest of the 90:
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