Six-time Pro Bowl cornerback Darius Slay has been benched by the Pittsburgh Steelers. The 34-year-old veteran was designated as a healthy inactive for Sunday’s home game against the Buffalo Bills.
Slay was a stalwart on Philadelphia Eagles teams that won two of the past three NFC championships and claimed the most recent Super Bowl 10 months ago. He joined the Steelers via a $10 million, one-year deal in March.
Slay had been gradually losing playing time to other defensive backs this season before suffering a concussion during a loss at the Los Angeles Chargers three weeks ago. Slay missed the following game but returned — but not as a starter — for last week’s defeat at the Chicago Bears.
The Steelers announced Saturday that veteran cornerback Asante Samuel was an elevation from the practice squad for Sunday’s game. He was to make his Steelers’ debut Sunday, three weeks after signing with the team.
James Pierre made his third consecutive start in Slay’s place Sunday. Pierre suffered a concussion during Sunday’s defeat and was replaced by Samuel.
Steelers debut
With starting defensive tackle Derrick Harmon (knee) out against the Bills, the Steelers chose to have Brodric Martin-Rhodes in uniform to make his debut with the team. Martin-Rhodes was signed to the 53-man roster off the practice squad of the Kansas City Chiefs on Nov. 6 but had been a gameday inactive since. The Steelers went with Martin-Rhodes for their depth on the defensive line over Logan Lee, who was a healthy inactive for the ninth time this season.
The 6-foot-5, 330-pound Martin-Rhodes came into Sunday with five prior games of NFL regular-season experience, all in 2023 and last season with the Detroit Lions.
The only other player from the Steelers’ 53-man roster who was not in uniform Sunday was wide receiver Scotty Miller. With Aaron Rodgers back starting at quarterback, rookie Will Howard was designated as the “emergency” No. 3 QB.
Bills down 4 starters on offense
The Bills entered Sunday’s game without four starters on offense because of injury. That included both starting tackles — Dion Dawkins (concussion) and Spencer Brown (shoulder).
Tight end Dalton Kincaid (hamstring) and receiver Josh Palmer (ankle) also were not in uniform. Kincaid missed the previous two Bills games.
Buffalo had announced earlier in the week that starting linebacker Terrel Bernard would not play against the Steelers because of an elbow injury.
The Bills also scratched cornerback Ja’Marcus Ingram and defensive tackle Phidarian Mathis.
