Steelers All 90: Can James Pierre Fend Off Big Rookies for Role?

There are a bunch of new tools in the toolbox for Pittsburgh Steelers defensive backs coach Grady Brown this season. Some of those tools are bight and shiny and still in their wrappers, and some are well-worn but have proven that they can do the job.

Fourth-year Steelers cornerback James Pierre doesn’t fit into either of those molds. With 50 games of NFL experience, he’s not bright and shiny and new anymore. With just six starts in three years and 701 career snaps (Levi Wallace had that many last season), he also hasn’t proven that he can do the job, either.

The big job for Pierre this season will making sure he doesn’t get shuffled to the bottom of the toolbox by those newer, shinier players like second-round pick Joey Porter Jr. and seventh-rounder Cory Trice.

In comparison to those players, his experience is significant, and he knows that right now, it’s his biggest advantage in the brewing competition for playing time.

Pierre said that he picked the brains of some of his more-veteran teammates, including new addition Patrick Peterson, about how he can best leverage that experience as an advantage.

“They just told me just watching film and focusing on details, that’s what carried them over into the next couple years of their career,” Pierre said.

But while Pierre is certainly going to be competing for Porter and Trice for playing time at outside cornerback behind Peterson and Wallace, he’s also, for the first time in his career, someone those young players are looking to as a leader.

“When I came in, the older guys took care of me,” Pierre said. “That’s just the right thing to do — just take care of them. That’s the organization, the Brotherhood of Steelers. Everybody takes care of each other. We’re stronger together.”

One way that Pierre won’t be able to differentiate himself — probably for the first time in his career — is his size. Pierre is listed at 6-foot-2 and 185 pounds. Porter is 6-foot-2, 194 pounds and Trice is 6-foot-3, 215 pounds, leading Mike Tomlin to call them “Avatar cornerbacks.”

Pierre knows that if he’s able to secure his role on the team for 2023, it will have to be his experience that shines through.

42 • James Pierre, fourth-year cornerback, FAU
6-foot-2, 185 pounds, 26 years old

Acquired: James Pierre was signed by the Steelers as an undrafted free agent after the 2020 NFL Draft. The Steelers did not tender him a contract as a restricted free agent this offseason, but brought him back on a one-year deal.

Last season: In 2022, Pierre was unable to crack the rotation at cornerback coming out of training camp, again playing only special teams, but injuries forced him into a role staring in Week 5 against the Buffalo Bills, when he started his first of two games.

Pierre retained some of that role through the remainder of the season, largely replacing Witherspoon after his severe hamstring injury. He played as an outside corner on obvious passing downs, moving Cameron Sutton into the slot.

Steelers CB James Pierre in a game against the Detroit Lions, Nov. 16, 2021. — (Ed Thompson/Steelers Now)

Career: Pierre surprised everyone by coming out of training camp as an unheralded undrafted rookie in 2020 with a roster spot, and took advantage of a special teams role, primarily as a gunner, to play in all 16 games.

He was asked to do more on defense as the season went on and filled in with Joe Haden on the COVID-19 list the final week of the regular season and in the playoffs. He finished with 10 tackles, one for a loss.

It was a struggle of a second season for Pierre, who Mike Tomlin called a potential starter at one point in the spring. But Pierre was passed on the depth chart by a string of acquisitions in Tre Norwood, Arthur Maulet and Ahkello Witherspoon, and by the end of the regular season, found himself without a role in the defense.

Pierre remained active for all 17 regular season games thanks to a special teams role, but did not see the big jump in playing time many projected for him in his second pro season. He finished the season with 47 tackles, three forced fumbles, four passes defended and one interception. He was on the COVID-19 list for the team’s playoff game at Kansas City.

College: A three-star prospect out of Deerfield Beach, Florida, Pierre initially committed to North Carolina, but was denied admission there. He went to Syracuse, where was taken as an academic non-qualifier.

He then transferred from Syracuse to FAU and after playing sparingly in 2017, he quickly became a two-year starter.

He had 55 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and nine passes defended as a sophomore in 2018 and 44 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, seven passes defended and three interceptions as a junior in 2019.

Salary cap and future: Pierre will make $1.3 million in salary in 2023, with no signing bonus. He will be an unrestricted free agent after the season.

The rest of the 90: