All 90 is a Pittsburgh Steelers Now series profiling each of the 90 members of the Steelers 2022 offseason roster.
25 • Ahkello Witherspoon, sixth-year cornerback, Colorado
6-foot-2, 195 pounds
Acquired: The Steelers traded for Witherspoon last September, sending a fifth-round draft pick to the Seattle Seahawks.
Last season: Witherspoon had an interesting first season with the Steelers. Forced into duty two weeks after his acquisition, he struggled against Las Vegas in Week 2 and the was inactive for seven straight games.
But when he returned to the lineup starting in Week 10 against the Los Angeles Chargers, Witherspoon played well. He appeared in all eight of the team’s final regular-season games and started three of them, as well as the playoff game at Kansas City.
Witherspoon finished the season with 15 tackles, one tackle for loss and nine passes defended.
Career: A third-round draft pick of the San Francisco 49ers in 2017, Witherspoon became a starter as a rookie and continued in that role for three season. He lost his starting job in 2020 and was not retained after hitting free agency for the first time last offseason. He signed with Seattle but then was traded before the start of the regular season.
College: Witherspoon started out at a junior college before transferring to Colorado, where he played three seasons. Over his final two seasons with the Buffaloes, he recorded 59 tackles, defended 22 passes and intercepted three passes.
Camp outlook: Which Witherspoon will arrive in 2022, the one that got benched for most of the regular season or the one that was a productive starter down the stretch? That’s one of the few remaining question marks for the Steelers defense, and it impacts how the rest of the squad will be deployed around him.
Free agent singing Levi Wallace figures to hold down one starting outside corner spot. If Witherspoon grabs the other one, does that move Cam Sutton back to Nickel and slide Art Maulet or Tre Norwood to Dime? Lots of questions to be answered.
Future: Witherspoon signed a two-year contract extension with the Steelers this offseason that runs through the end of the 2023 season and will pay him $1.035 million in salary this season.
The rest of the 90:
