When Steelers training camp began, the two prime candidates to succeed Mike Hilton at slot corner were second-year man Antoine Brooks and veteran free agent Arthur Maulet with Cam Sutton as a back-up option provided James Pierre proved capable on the outside.
But now, with Brooks waived/injured and Maulet fighting through some ailments and with just over two weeks until the start of the regular season, a new player has entered the fray – rookie Tre Norwood. Mike Tomlin says that the 7th round draft pick, whom he called a Swiss Army knife on draft day, will get a look Friday in Carolina even though this is the first week he has lined up there at practice.
"His focus exclusively has been at safety for the better part of this process, but he has been trained and learning nickel the whole time so he will probably get a few snaps there," said Tomlin, who expects the Panthers to play most of their starters which was later confirmed by their coach, Matt Ruhle.
Although Norwood has played against Steelers veterans in training camp he hasn't played against NFL veterans at game speed. It's a big step but Defensive Coordinator Keith Butler has no qualms. "He's a very smart young man," Butler pointed out. "He's like Cam Sutton. They're smart enough to play more than one position."
"We wouldn't stick him over there if we didn't think he was capable of it," Butler continued. "We have confidence that he can do that stuff. But is he going to play the nickel (in the regular season)? I don't know; we'll see. We'll see this ballgame and going into the next one."
Coaches often say the most important ability is availability; that what sent Brooks packing. But flexibility, especially for young players, is a close second. "My thing with all of them is they've got to make themselves valuable," Butler said. "You make yourself valuable by playing special teams, by playing nickel, by playing safety, by playing corner, by playing a lot of different positions."
For Butler, being able to watch Norwood - and other backups (like Pierre and Justin Layne) - go up against another team's starters is an added bonus. "We're going to see if they can help us," he agreed. "It gives us a better look at them playing against quality NFL players. That will tell us if they can compete in this league; give us a better look, anyway."
