Steelers Experience Nightmare Scenario As Buccaneers' Mike Evans Dominates Jalen Ramsey In Joint Practice

The Pittsburgh Steelers invest on the defensive side of the ball year after year. The team has had the highest-paid unit for several seasons, but fans have become frustrated because the group doesn't always live up to expectations. Inconsistencies have haunted Teryl Austin's group, but that should change in 2025, especially because the secondary has one of the best cornerback situations in all of football. Jalen Ramsey, Joey Porter Jr. and Darius Slay should all play a part in dominating opposing receivers, but the franchise had to have gotten a little bit nervous during a joint practice on Thursday with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The Steelers and Buccaneers will face off in a preseason battle on Saturday, but not all starters will be on the field for the contest, which is why Thursday's practice was an important one for both coaching staffs to evaluate their players. Due to NFL rules, reporters weren't able to capture a lot of the occurrences during the session, but some facts came out afterwards.

Head Coach Mike Tomlin has consistently been saying that Ramsey will be in charge of lining up versus each opponent's best wide receiver. The cornerback was given the opportunity to do so with Tampa Bay in town on Thursday, but that allegedly went very poorly for the veteran defender, according to Rick Stroud, who is a journalist for the Tampa Bay Times.

Mike Evans is one of the most underrated pass-catchers of his generation, but Ramsey was acquired so he could shut down top wideouts. It may have just been a joint practice in August, but the reporting coming out of the Steel City is rather concerning. Evans was apparently so prominent that he isn't even going to play on Saturday, which says a lot about how good he must have looked against the Steelers' defense and Ramsey.

Pittsburgh's offense is expected to be better in 2025, but Tomlin's goal will always be to win games on the defensive side of the ball. If Thursday was any indication of what's to come, the Steelers could be in a more difficult situation than originally thought. To be the best, one has to beat the best, and the observation coming from a reporter like Stroud sheds a negative light on Ramsey.

Competition brings out the best in players, but on Thursday, there is evidently no doubt that the heart of the Buccaneers' offense got the better of the newly-acquired member of Pittsburgh's defense.

It's important to note that players don't always go all out in August due to the possibility of getting injured, but it's apparent that Evans had no issues beating Ramsey more than once over the course of the joint practice. It will be interesting to keep an eye on Ramsey as he continues to get his feet wet in Austin's defense. Week 1 of the 2025 season is just around the corner, so it is imperative that the team's top cornerback is ready to go to battle week in and week out.

Steelers Can't Afford To Have Ramsey Play Poorly Throughout 2025 Season

While a duo of Porter and Slay is great to have alongside Ramsey, the team isn't paying the former Miami Dolphins cornerback a ton of money to get beat by opposing wide receivers. It's not fair to completely overreact in mid-August, but a few red flags should be raised after the reporting from Stroud. Ramsey has to be playing at the highest level possible come September.

Do you think that the Steelers should be worried that Evans dominated Ramsey during Thursday's joint practice? Let us know in the comments below!

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