Exit Meeting: CB James Pierre
Experience: 3 Years
James Pierre missed a stretch of games late last season, but prior to that, he ascended into the starting lineup. So what’s next? A former college free agent and special teams ace, he is coming off by far his best season. But it’s fair to wonder how the team evaluates him—especially considering the coaching staff is new.
The Steelers first signed James Pierre out of Florida Atlantic in 2020 as a rookie free agent. For most of his career, he has played primarily on special teams, logging 1,359 snaps. They had to cut down on his workload last season, however, as his defensive responsibilities grew.
Of course, that’s far from the plan that they envisioned. The Steelers signed Darius Slay and Brandin Echols in free agency and traded for Jalen Ramsey. They still had Joey Porter Jr., of course, so there should have been no place for Pierre. And they were still high on Cory Trice Jr. at that point, in addition to drafting Donte Kent.
But one man’s misfortune is another’s opportunity, as they say. In the past, Pierre struggled when he had opportunities to play. When he got on defense last season, he played by far the best and most consistent football of his career.
In 376 snaps, plus another 168 on special teams, James Pierre totaled 30 tackles, 1 for loss, with 1 interception, 11 passes defensed, and a defensive touchdown on a fumble return. It was actually the fourth interception of his career; last season, however, he had several shots that he could not complete. It took him until Week 17 to finally finish the job.
But the Steelers also added Asante Samuel Jr. in-season last year. Samuel is a recognized name around the league and had been a full-time starter in the past before a major injury that required spinal fusion surgery. Mike McCarthy and his staff likely won’t care nearly as much as Mike Tomlin’s did about James Pierre. That’s just the reality of business in this league. And Samuel played pretty well, too, for his own part. He did so after missing the offseason, signing in-season, and learning a new defense in the fly.
The Pittsburgh Steelers find themselves at home, the inevitable result ofanother early playoff exit. This is a repeated pattern for the organization, but with major change coming. As the Steelers conduct their own exit meetings, we willgo down the roster conducting our own. Who should stay, and who should go, and how? Who should expect a bigger role next season, and who might deserve a new contract? The resignation of Mike Tomlin makes those questions much more difficult to answer, but much more important. We’ll explore those questions and more in these articles, part of an annual series.
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