Steelers' Mike Tomlin Gets Brutally Honest About Juan Thornhill’s Exit: "Wasn't Up To Snuff"

The Pittsburgh Steelers lost to the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday Night Football by a score of 25-10. The Steelers played one of their worst games of the season collectively, with the offense unable to gain momentum and the defense unable to stop the Chargers' playmakers from controlling the tempo of the game. This performance is coming off the heels of the team's best performance all season against the Indianapolis Colts the week prior, in which the team was able to force six turnovers and hold superstar Colts running back Jonathan Taylor to 45 yards on 14 carries (his worst performance all year long).

The wildly inconsistent performance of the Steelers from week to week has been a point of contention with fans, the media, and many others across the country. Recently, Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin gave his weekly address to the media and was asked about the performance of certain players and why they didn't perform up to expectations. Specifically, Tomlin was asked about the play of former Steelers safety Juan Thornhill in recent weeks prior to the surprising release of Thornhill from the roster. Tomlin's response to being asked about why Thornhill was released only for the team to bring in safety Sebastian Castro back to the practice squad, speaks volumes for how he feels about Thornhill and the safety room as a whole.

"You know, the player wasn't up to snuff," Tomlin bluntly stated. "Castro was available to us. We went through the team development process with Castro, thought he had a good camp, good preseason, he played his tail off in that practice against the Bucs. I think that's why, you know, they stole him from us, and we had an opportunity to reacquire him. We've absorbed some attrition since he left, and so, it was an opportunity to get him back. It was more about Castro and less about Juan."

Tomlin's comments on how he felt about Thornhill's performance shows in how Thornhill's snap counts reduced over the weeks leading up to his release. The fact that Tomlin saw that Castro was released by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and was excited about the opportunity to re-sign him says a lot about how Thornhill had performed within the Steelers defense up to now. Castro signed as an undrafted rookie free agent by the Steelers this past offseason before the Bucs signed him off the Steelers' practice squad.

Castro re-signing with the Steelers gives the team more depth at a position that they've suffered injuries to key players in, as Tomlin stated about the attrition since Castro left. However, adding Castro back to the fold could be a move that not only solves an issue with the Steelers' defense in the moment, but could add a player to the team that has the potential to contribute at a high level for a long time. 

The signing of Castro and Tomlin's remarks about why the team chose to bring him into the fold rather than allow Thornhill to continue to sit on the roster speaks volumes about how the team is attempting to bring in talent to not only supplement a weakened safety room that is decimated with injury, but could also be attempting to get younger on the defensive side of the ball. However, the team still has a massive issue to address, even with the signing of Castro to the practice squad.

Steelers' Defense Needs To Figure Out A Game Plan As Schedule Toughens

Even as the Steelers sign players to address positions decimated by injuries, the team needs to find a way to change up how the defense is schemed on a weekly basis. It was predictable enough against the Chargers that linebacker Daiyan Henley had admitted that their goal was to get to Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers frustrated in the pocket, and they did a good job in that regard.

If the Steelers can't find a way to make themselves look less predictable on offense as the schedule gets tougher, then Tomlin's remarks about the potential of Castro will be ultimately useless.

What did you think about Tomlin's comments regarding Thornhill's release and the return of Castro? Let us know in the comments or on X at @SteelersSwamp7.

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