The Pittsburgh Steelers are becoming desperately thin at the safety position.
With starters Mike Mitchell and Shamarko Thomas, along with reserve Ross Ventrone already out with various injuries, the Steelers were already tapping deep into the ranks of their depth chart.
Now with key reserve and special teams standout Robert Golden out with what head coach Mike Tomlin deemed “significant,” the Steelers may be looking for additional help at the position.
Golden, a top contributor on special teams who was expected to share primary back up duties at safety with veteran Will Allen, went down with an apparent leg injury during two-minute drills yesterday afternoon at Latrobe. More information in regards to the details and extent of Golden’s injury will likely be announced when the team updates their injury report later today.
If Golden is lost for an extended period of time, the Steelers will be left with only Allen, Gerod Holliman, Alden Darby, Ian Wild and Isaiah Lewis as current healthy bodies at camp. Only Allen has NFL experience at safety, Holliman is a rookie considered a “project” player, while Darby, Wild and Lewis were all free agents considered long shots to make the roster.
What does this mean for the Steelers both in the long and short term?
Though both Mitchell and Thomas’s injuries are considered minor and will not keep them out long, Ventrone is likely going to be out for the foreseeable future with an ankle injury that currently has him in a walking boot. This means the Steelers may have to look for additional depth at the position simply to have enough bodies in camp for practices reps.
If Golden is not able to return for an extended period or has to be placed on injured reserve, this will be a tough blow not only for positional depth, but especially on special teams. Golden’s contributions were enough to garner him the honor of being named captain of the unit last season.
Ventrone would be the biggest benefactor of Golden’s misfortune due to his special teams experience both with the Steelers and the New England Patriots. Though limited as a safety, Ventrone might have a leg up on a roster spot due to his special teams prowess.
This will be a chance for the remaining group of safeties to impress, especially Holliman, who won the Thorpe Award as the nation’s top defensive back after breaking the NCAA record for interceptions in a season with 14. Despite of this, Holliman slipped to the seventh round after struggling with some of the nuances of the position at Louisville, specifically poor tackling and lack of discipline on the field.
