NFL Free Agency: Top 3 landing spots for Steven Nelson
The Pittsburgh Steelers released cornerback Steven Nelson during the offseason and, as yet, no NFL team has plucked him from the market. The Oregon State product remains a free agent.
Nelson began his career with the Chiefs and enjoyed a superb final season in Kansas (2018), registering four interceptions to cap off a productive four-year stint with coach Andy Reed.
Nelson signed with the Steelers in 2019 on a three-year deal that would see him earn a tidy $25.5 million. He never quite hit the heights of his 2018 season with the Chiefs, but Nelson was absolutely one of the better corners in the league in 2020, ranked 39th out of 93 qualifying CBs via PFF.
Pittsburgh may have saved themselves a cool $14.4 million cap hit for 2021 by letting Nelson go (as per his request, I should add), but, at just 28-years-of-age, Nelson still has plenty to offer a plethora of franchise teams looking to add a CB to the roster in time for autumn. To be perfectly honest, the Steelers' CB depth chart looks bare without him!
Take a look at the 3 best landing sports for the former Steeler, Steven Nelson.
(in no particular order)
New Orleans Saints
New Orleans parted company with veteran CB Janoris Jenkins during the free agency period. The former Pro Bowler has since found a new home with the Tennessee Titans.
With Jenkins' name stricken from the roster, the Saints CB depth chart is lacking in proven talent. Behind the experienced trio of Marshon Lattimore, CJ Gardner-Johnson (S/CB), and Malcolm Jenkins (S/CB), sit the likes of Keith Washington Jr. and Patrick Robinson, relatively untried players.
Due to the apparent lack of depth in the CB position, it's all but guaranteed that head coach Sean Payton will add another talent to the locker room before the season gets underway in the autumn.
Steven Nelson projects as a viable option for the Saints. He's faster than he appears; isn't scared to put a big hit in; pops up with important PDs and interceptions, and, at 28, still has time to improve, too.
Whether or not the Saints can afford Nelson's probable $8.5 million per year salary is another question altogether, mind...
Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals have replaced Patrick Peterson (Vikings) with Malcolm Butler during the free agency period. Butler, a 2x Super Bowl champion, is fresh off the back of his most productive season ever, having chalked up 100 tackles and four interceptions for the Titans last year.
Even with Butler, the Cardinals appear thin on the CB depth chart. Dre Kirkpatrick, the man who guarded the opposite flank to Peterson last year, was also released by the Cardinals and is still a free agent. Kirkpatrick endured a tough 2020 campaign, ranked 107th in the league in the CB position, and received a coverage grade of just 46.1 from PFF. In fact, the Cardinals secondary gave up way too many big plays last year on the whole and was ranked 22nd out of 32 teams via PFF -- the defensive backfield is definitely an area that Arizona fans are clamoring to see strengthened before preseason gets underway, that's for sure.
Nelson has the skillset required to keep both Robert Alford and Byron Murphy Jr. honest, and could even go on to start most games at their expense should the Cardinals opt to take him to State Farm Stadium.
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are another team in need of reinforcements in the cornerback position, and that could well be a good fit for Steven Nelson.
After a shaky 2019, Veteran CB Xavier Rhodes signed back on to a one-year deal with the Colts following an impressive campaign last time out. Rhodes, a x3 Pro Bowler during his career with the Vikings, helped get the Colts back to the playoffs, registering 42 tackles and two interceptions as part of defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus's much-heralded defensive unit.
There isn't much depth on the Colts' roster behind the likes of Rhodes and the impressive Kenny Moore II. Rock Ya-Sin is probably the next best CB on the roster, but his sophomore campaign had nothing to write home about and most feel GM Chris Ballard needs to add some better competition to the squad -- Steven Nelson could be just the ticket.
With some $20 million to spare, the Colts are one of the most cap-rich teams in the NFL this offseason and, as such, certainly have the required dollars needed to bring in a player of Nelson's quality.
Whether or not the Colts should bring in an established veteran like Nelson, or just pluck for a feisty young rookie CB in the NFL Draft, who they can pay a lot less money over the next 4-5 years, is another question...