For the first time since his rookie season, CB Darius Slay didn’t intercept a pass in 2024. Not in the regular season, anyway, though he snagged a Jordan Love pass in the Philadelphia Eagles’ playoff run that ended in a Super Bowl. Assuming Slay breaks that drought in 2025 with the Pittsburgh Steelers and at 34 years old, he’ll join a rare group of Steelers. Not necessarily an elite one, but an interesting group of cornerbacks to pick off a pass at that age or older.
Below is a list of Steelers’ corners with an interception when they were 34 or older. To date, only four have done it.
Steelers Cornerbacks With INT In Age 34+ Season
1. Russ Craft (1954)
2. Mel Blount (1982, 1983)
3. Willie Williams (2004)
4. Deshea Townsend (2009)
Craft is a name time forgot with a career arc the Steelers hope Darius Slay repeats. Craft, a two-time Pro Bowler with the Philadelphia Eagles, finished his career with a one-year stint as a Steeler in 1954. He intercepted three passes, highlighted by an 81-yard pick-six in a wild 55-27 win over Otto Graham and the powerhouse Cleveland Browns. It was one of five interceptions off Graham that day, the most he threw in a game during his Hall of Fame career.
Blount is the best-known name of the four. Changes to NFL rules nor his age slowed him down. Limited to just nine games in his age-34 season in 1982, he picked just one pass. Healthy the following year, Blount intercepted the final four of his elite career, finishing with 57.
Drafted by the Steelers in 1993, Williams returned for his second stint with Pittsburgh nearly a decade after leaving. Signing over from Seattle in 2004, Williams picked off one pass. It was a big one, sealing a 33-30 win over the New York Giants to thwart a potential game-winning drive. The duel of rookies Ben Roethlisberger and Eli Manning stole the headlines, but Williams secured victory.
Townsend is the most recent example, though it came early in Mike Tomlin’s tenure. Townsend’s pick came in the 2009 regular season finale, finishing off a solid and underrated Steelers’ career. Beating the Miami Dolphins, he picked off QB Chad Henne late in the second quarter. The next play, Pittsburgh gave it right back thanks to a failed trick play where WR Santonio Holmes threw deep for RB Rashard Mendenhall. It didn’t end well.
Darius Slay will attempt to be the next. He’s been a ballhawk throughout his career. Of active players since he was drafted in 2013, Slay’s 28 interceptions rank ninth among all players and third among cornerbacks, only trailing Stephon Gilmore (31) and Xavien Howard (29). The measure of his success in Pittsburgh won’t be off takeaways alone. His consistency, not allowing big plays, tackling, and mentoring Joey Porter Jr. will all be important. But the Steelers have consistently been at or near the top of the league in takeaways for years, and the more Slay can put his hand in that pile, the better.
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