Editor’s note: From now until the first practice of training camp at Saint Vincent College, TribLive is running through the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 90-man roster, looking at each player and assessing his outlook for the 2024 season. The breakdown will run in alphabetical order with at least two players each day between June 14 and July 25. Contract data courtesy spotrac.com.
CB ANTHONY AVERETT
Experience/age: 7th season, 29
Contract status: $985,000 veteran-minimum cap hit if he makes the team in 2024
The past: Twice a member of College Football Playoff championship teams while at Alabama, Averett was a fourth-round pick of the Baltimore Ravens in 2018. Mostly a special-teamer as a rookie, by year two he began to establish himself as a trusted NFL cornerback … but also began to establish a reputation for being oft-injured. The following season included another stint on injured reserve, but by 2021, Averett was an every-down outside cornerback for the Ravens. Still, though, two separate injuries caused him to miss a total of three games. Averett signed with the Las Vegas Raiders in 2022 but appeared in only seven games (six starts). Last year, Averett was unsigned when training camps opened across the league but joined the San Francisco 49ers on Aug. 3. Two weeks later, he was placed on IR and eventually released via an injury settlement. Aside from a midseason stint on the Detroit Lions practice squad, Averett did not play in 2023.
6-yr NFL veteran CB Anthony Averett is at Steelers rookie minicamp as a tryout.
— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) May 11, 2024
Did he look over the roster before getting here to see if there’s an opening for him? pic.twitter.com/EjDyMOxuer
2024 outlook: The rare veteran taking part in rookie minicamp, Averett earned a contract from the Steelers off a tryout last month. Though the 5-foot-11, 185-pound Averett does have some experience in the slot/nickel, he’s mostly been an outside cornerback throughout his career. Upon his signing May 12, it appeared Averett had a reasonable shot to maybe make the team when the season began. Since, though, the Steelers have signed two additional veteran cornerbacks in Cameron Sutton and Grayland Arnold. That cannot be interpreted as a positive sign that Steelers coaches believed Averett was the answer to their questions about CB depth.
Still, after “shutdown” Joey Porter Jr. and veteran Donte Jackson, there are few sure things about the Steelers cornerbacks corps. Sutton is the odds-on favorite to serve as a No. 3, with options such as rookie Beanie Bishop, Arnold and Josiah Scott (in addition to Sutton) possibilities for the slot. Wild cards are Cory Trice Jr. and Darius Rush, two players who went into last year’s draft as intriguing cornerback prospects with good size. Trice, though, suffered a season-ending injury during camp and Rush bounced around between three teams. The Steelers hope one or both can show they have a future. If not, Averett is an insurance policy at cornerback.
