The Pittsburgh Steelers face a worst-case scenario, as the team saw one of their starting outside cornerbacks go down with an injury after trading away one of the best man-coverage corners in the league in Joey Porter Jr.
In Pittsburgh's heartbreaking 27-24 loss to the Cleveland Browns, cornerback Jamel Dean left the game with an ankle injury and was ruled out for the remainder of the game. He was later spotted in a walking boot, adding even more concern to the setback.
In Dean's absence, the Steelers relied on cornerbacks Asante Samuel Jr. and rookie third-rounder Daylen Everette to cover the Browns' top wide receivers, but the two struggled to defend Cleveland's pass attack.
Dean, arguably the top free-agent cornerback this past offseason, signed
with the Steelers on a three-year deal in March 2026. He was expected to play a massive role in rebuilding Pittsburgh's cornerback room after the team traded away Porter.
After being forced to suit up for a short-week game against the Browns, the Steelers will now get some additional rest, with 10 days until the team faces off against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 5. Hopefully, this will be ample time for Dean to rest up and recover from this ankle setback he's been dealing with over the past several weeks.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Wire: Steelers face worst-case scenario after troubling injury update
