Donte Whitner knows what it takes to play safety, an 11-year veteran who made two Pro Bowls. He knows not everyone can do it well. Especially cornerbacks like Jalen Ramsey flipping to the back end of the secondary, leading him to wonder if Ramsey is even in the Pittsburgh Steelers’ immediate future.
Whitner made the case during a Friday discussion on NFL Network’s Good Morning Football.
“They moved Jalen Ramsey from corner to safety,” Whitner said. “Everybody can’t make that transition because it takes a different skillset. You have the angles that you approach the ball carry are different. The footwork and the efficiency in the middle of the field and the deep half and in the quarter of the field is different.
“The communication is enormous at a safety position. You’re a quarterback of the defense. So I don’t think that Jalen Ramsey has the makeup of the Charles Woodson’s that’s been able to convert to safety from corner and do it at a high level and make Pro Bowls.”
Woodson is a comparison the Steelers’ coaching staff has likened to Ramsey, but Whitner clearly isn’t as confident.
Pittsburgh called a midseason audible last year, shifting Ramsey from cornerback to safety partway through the year. Largely to cover up for injury and poor play at the position, Juan Thornhill released with DeShon Elliott lost to injury, and partly to mask Ramsey’s declining speed as a premier outside cover corner. Ramsey’s play the rest of the season was serviceable, especially for someone picking up a new position on the fly.
The question will be how much safety Ramsey plays this year. Beat writers speculate he’ll primarily align at slot corner. His size and physicality make him an asset fitting the run and blitzing while his lack of straight-line speed will be less of an issue inside. Still, he figures to spend some time at safety and one injury to Jaquan Brisker – who has a concussion history – or Elliott could put Ramsey in a full-time deep end role.
That is, assuming Ramsey is even on the roster. Something Whitner surprisingly thinks isn’t guaranteed.
“I think that Jalen Ramsey is on the list to be surprised cut this year for the Pittsburgh Steelers,” Whitner said.
There’s no evidence Pittsburgh intends on cutting Ramsey. If the team wanted to move on, Ramsey would’ve been released earlier this offseason. In March, Ramsey had a $2 million roster bonus pay out along with guaranteeing $3.5 million of his 2026 base salary. It makes little sense for the Steelers to cut him now and eat that money all while weakening the roster.
Unless Ramsey tries to fight his way out of Pittsburgh, he’s set to stay and play a significant role in the 2026 defense.
Recommended for you