Steelers' Shorthanded Secondary Gets A Surprising Twist Before Colts Matchup

The Pittsburgh Steelers spent the first month watching a secondary that looked ridiculously deep in July turn into one of the roster's biggest weekly puzzles. A trade removed one projected starter, injuries took bites out of the rest, and Cleveland exposed what happens when communication gets shaky. Pittsburgh responded by shopping other teams' practice squads. This week will determine whether those additions are emergency supplies or actual answers.

Mike McCarthy says the Steelers are using the full practice week to determine exactly what they have in Sean Murphy-Bunting and the other recently added defensive backs before Sunday's matchup with the Indianapolis Colts. At the same time, Jamel Dean's sprained ankle has improved faster than Pittsburgh expected, leaving at least a small opening for the veteran to avoid missing the game.

That makes the cornerback picture far less settled than it looked after Cleveland. Pittsburgh signed Murphy-Bunting to the active roster Monday, then added Terell Smith from Washington's practice squad a day later. Both arrived because the Steelers suddenly needed experienced outside options after trading Joey Porter Jr. and watching Dean leave the Browns loss with an ankle injury.

Murphy-Bunting brings the stronger résumé. The seventh-year veteran has appeared in 82 regular-season games with 65 starts, 11 interceptions and a Super Bowl ring from his first stint in Tampa Bay. He did not play in 2025 and began this season on a practice squad, though, so Pittsburgh cannot assume 65 career starts automatically translate into 60 useful snaps Sunday.

Smith is a bigger evaluation project. He has 26 career games and six starts, but he has not appeared in a regular-season game since 2024 after losing 2025 to a torn patellar tendon. Pittsburgh signed him to the 53-man roster because poaching a player from another practice squad requires an active-roster commitment.

During his Thursday media availability, McCarthy made clear that the staff wants the week to provide the answer.

“The new guys really just have one day. We actually were talking roster literally right before I came out here. So really the biggest thing, have a plan for those guys and make sure they’re getting to work so we can evaluate them and have a full week this week to see how it plays out for the Colts game… As far as how much we’ll use them, you know, that’ll be determined once we get to the end of the week,” McCarthy said.

That is the sensible approach, but Pittsburgh does not have unlimited time to be patient. The Steelers are 2-2, and the secondary just spent part of Thursday night in Cleveland looking like several players had received different copies of the coverage call. Adding veteran names helps the depth chart. It does not automatically fix the communication that made the additions necessary.

The more surprising development is Dean. Early expectations around the ankle injury pointed toward him missing time, helping trigger Pittsburgh's roster scramble. McCarthy now sounds less certain that Sunday is already lost.

“Yeah, we’ll see… I know he was feeling better Monday than we expected. So, we’ll see where he is,” McCarthy said.

There is an important reality check attached. Dean did not practice Wednesday or Thursday, so feeling better than expected is not the same thing as being ready to cover NFL receivers. Pittsburgh should not rush an ankle because the depth chart got uncomfortable. If Dean can move, plant and change direction normally by week's end, though, his return would solve the biggest question before McCarthy has to gamble on a player who learned the defense five days earlier.

Pittsburgh's first answer after the injury was Murphy-Bunting, whose experience gives the staff a legitimate fallback. He has played outside and in the slot, and that versatility fits a defense that prefers moving defensive backs around instead of attaching one player permanently to one location.

The Steelers also have younger options who already know the system. Daylen Everette has received meaningful snaps through the first month, while Asante Samuel Jr. remains part of the outside-corner equation. Neither has been perfect, but familiarity matters when the alternative is teaching a newcomer the language of the defense while preparing him for Indianapolis.

DeShon Elliott returning to practice Thursday adds another piece, although he remains on injured reserve and has only been designated to return. Pittsburgh suddenly has more bodies trending toward availability than it did when the plane left Cleveland. The question is how many can actually help Sunday.

Steelers Should Make The Newcomers Earn Their Way Onto The Field

There is always a temptation after an ugly defensive performance to treat every new signing like a solution. Murphy-Bunting's résumé is legitimate, and Smith has enough athletic ability to deserve the evaluation. Neither should walk into a major role simply because Pittsburgh spent the week feeling desperate.

If Dean is truly healthy enough to play, this decision should not become complicated for the sake of being clever. Use the player who knows the calls, has started the first four games and understands how the pieces around him fit. If he cannot go, the full week McCarthy keeps emphasizing becomes critical because Pittsburgh needs to identify which replacement can be trusted, not which name looks safest on paper.

That is what makes this week useful. Pittsburgh entered it scrambling for defensive backs. By Sunday, the Steelers may have Dean back, two newly evaluated veterans and another safety moving closer to activation.

The secondary is still bruised. At least the emergency plan finally has options.

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