Omar Khan's overhaul of the Steelers' roster continues. This time, it's at cornerback.
The Steelers officially announced the release of Arthur Maulet on Wednesday afternoon. Maulet has played in 33 games for Pittsburgh over the past two seasons, primarily as a slot cornerback.
During the NFL Draft, the Steelers added another slot cornerback to the roster by signing free agent Chandon Sullivan.
While all the smoke hasn't quite cleared as to why the Steelers decided to cut ties with Maulet, his contract situation has been a bit murky since the start of the offseason.
While we confirmed that the team plans to release Maulet, there are reports that he asked for his release. This aligns with some rumblings that Maulet was not satisfied with his contract situation heading into the 2023 season.
According to Spotrac, Maulet was set to carry a $2.29-million cap hit in 2023, what was set to be the final season of his two-year contract. There is only $500,000 guaranteed, so the Steelers will save $1.79 million in cap space with Maulet's release.
Maulet is coming off a season in which he played in all 17 games, recording 59 tackles, one interception and three passes defended. He served as the Steelers' primary slot cornerback on running downs since his strengths align with run defense and in the pass rush. Maulet was also an effective player on special teams.
However, he's been a bit of a liability in pass coverage. According to Pro Football Focus, Maulet had a 105.8 passer rating against last season. That ranks 101st among cornerbacks that played at least 20 percent of 789 snaps.
While players typically don't fully broadcast the details of their contract situation, Maulet shed a little bit of light on his perspective regarding his release.
"I'm very thankful for everything but I won't sell my soul (or) change what I believe in," Maulet wrote in an Instagram story. "They gone paint the picture like I'm trippin."
Maulet did also post on his Instagram account, thanking the city of Pittsburgh.
With Maulet no longer in the fold, the slot cornerback position is even more thin now. Sullivan is aboard, but there are no other true slot cornerbacks on the roster. Patrick Peterson will move around between the inside and outside. As Mike Tomlin has openly said multiple times, they won't be "bashful" about trying to utilize Peterson's versatility.
One way the Steelers could fill Maulet's role, primarily on running downs, is with more three-safety looks. The Steelers have the trio of Minkah Fitzpatrick, Damontae Kazee and Keanu Neal. Kazee figures to play in a more traditional safety spot most often while Fitzpatrick can roam anywhere he needs to. Neal could be the safety that most often plays near the line of scrimmage. He's a stout tackler, racking up at least 100 tackles in three of his five seasons that weren't derailed by injury. And, he's a more effective blitzer than Maulet.
Either way, this move tells me Khan isn't done shaping the roster ahead of training camp. While I don't anticipate any seismic moves, I also wouldn't put it past Khan to pull off one more move that turns some heads. He's been very active in both free agency, and he carried that over into the draft. As Tomlin said, "He's aggressive."
When it comes to an "aggressive" general manager, nothing is off the table.
