The Steelers ponied up to acquire Jalen Ramsey this offseason, but Ben Roethlisberger is concerned that they’re wasting his talents. The former All-Pro has enjoyed a diverse role in the secondary this year, beyond anything he’d done previously. In the past couple weeks, he has played a bit more on the outside, though, drawing Roethlisberger’s attention. He believes the Steelers would best benefit from him in a different role.
“I love when they put [Jalen] Ramsey in the slot”, he said on his Footbahlin podcast, and in fact, they largely due. Via Pro Football Focus, of his 461 defensive snaps in 2025, 217 have been in the slot. That doesn’t include another 71 snaps listed as in the box or on the line.
“You move him into the slot, because then you can blitz him, you can use him in zone coverages, you can [use him to help] stop the run. He can diagnose”, Roethlisberger said, calling that Ramsey’s greatest strength despite arguing that he still has the talent to be a cover guy on the outside.
Indeed, Roethlisberger elaborated on his concerns about playing Ramsey outside and locking him in one-on-one with a wide receiver. Yet, instead, he suggested that they should lock him in one-on-one in the slot on a tight end.
“I think Ramsey’s perfect for that. I think he’s a veteran guy that, can he cover outside? Sure. But I think you could bring him on the inside where you can use his smarts more than his physical abilities”, Roethlisberger argued. “Put him in the slot and let him cover the tight end if you’ve got a valuable weapon tight end. I think you’re wasting him on the outside at the corner position to try and lock down one of their best wide receivers”.
In reality, Jalen Ramsey has only played 136 snaps at outside cornerback this season, including 46 the past two weeks. In those games, he has also played 78 snaps in the slot and another 26 at safety or near the line. Being a man-to-man outside cornerback against a wide receiver is only a small part of his game.
The element that might make it seem otherwise is the fact that he has lost some high-visibility matchups. In Week 8, for example, he got burnt by Bengals WR Tee Higgins for what was essentially the game-winning play. Rather than scoring on a breakaway catch, he slid down to set up a field goal, eating clock.
The problem is, the Steelers really don’t have any cornerbacks they should feel comfortable leaving on the outside in man coverage. They thought they would have three this year with Ramsey, Joey Porter Jr., and Darius Slay. None of them, however, have been up to the task. Porter is still lacking in development, and Slay is showing his age. They have already begun to chip away at his snaps. But what is the Steelers’ alternative? Shove Cory Trice Jr. in there and leave Ramsey in the slot?
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