If the departure of Carnell Lake a few weeks ago wasn't enough evidence the Steelers are intent on improving their secondary, the events that took place Wednesday certainly drove the point home.
As expected, the team released Mike Mitchell and William Gay Wednesday as the new league year began and all teams had to be in compliance with the salary cap. But also released was safety Robert Golden in a move that was not expected.
That gives new secondary coach Tom Bradley, who was hired to replace Lake, three open spots to work with, including two at the safety position, where the only players with extensive NFL experience are now Sean Davis and J.J. Wilcox.
The Steelers obviously want to shore up their run defense in 2018 -- something team president Art Rooney II stressed to reporters in a meeting last month -- and fix a defense that finished fifth overall but allowed 13 pass plays of 40 or more yards last season, the third-most in the NFL.
With the early flurry of free agent signings and announcements, as well, the Steelers could have viewed the landscape and realized it will be easier to find safety help than at inside linebacker.
While top inside linebackers Anthony Hitchens ($9 million per season), Demario Davis ($8 million) and Avery Williamson ($7.5 million) have been scooped up quickly for big-money contracts, the safety market has been a little slower.
In fact, Kurt Coleman, who was released last week by Carolina and signed a day later by New Orleans, has the largest safety contract signed thus far at $5 million per season, the same base salary Mitchell was scheduled to make this year.
And that market was added to Wednesday when Arizona released Tyrann Mathieu in a salary cap-related move. Mathieu, though undersized at 5-9, 186 pounds, is a ballhawk who had 41 passes defensed and 11 interceptions in five seasons in Arizona.
Mitchell and Golden combined for one interception and five passes defensed for the Steelers in 2017.
The Steelers also could make a push for other talented safeties such as Tre Boston or Kenny Vaccarro, neither of whom has generated much buzz early in the signing period.
Regardless of who they bring in, the Steelers will have a much different defensive alignment in the secondary in 2018. Mitchell, Golden and Gay combined to play 1,156 snaps last season, snaps that will have to be replaced.
The team already is considering moving cornerback Cameron Sutton to safety and also has high hopes for Wilcox, who was acquired in a trade with Tampa Bay just prior to the start of the 2017 season but fell into disfavor with the coaching staff after having two critical special teams penalties. The Steelers feel a full offseason and training camp working in their system will benefit Wilcox greatly.
The team does return Davis, the team's leader in tackles and interceptions in 2017, at free safety, along with corners Joe Haden, Artie Burns, Mike Hilton, Sutton, Brian Allen and Coty Sensabaugh. The hope is that Bradley, a longtime defensive coordinator at Penn State who also has worked recently at West Virginia and UCLA, will bring a new sense of urgency and help make the group better at takeaways in 2018.
Last season, the Steelers' defensive backs accounted for 11 of the team's 16 interceptions, a number the coaching staff would like to see increase.
