The Pittsburgh Steelers have a few holes to fill on the defensive side as we head into the 2025 NFL offseason, and one of them is at cornerback.
With veterans Donte Jackson and Cameron Sutton expected to hit the open market and a questionable amount of depth behind star cornerback Joey Porter Jr. — headlined by promising youngsters Beanie Bishop Jr. and Cory Trice Jr. — the Steelers will likely look to add another starting caliber CB in either free agency or the draft.
Now, the simple solution could just be to re-sign Jackson, who had a solid 2024 campaign in Pittsburgh. Long-time Steelers beat reporter Mark Kaboly went a different direction with a recent prediction, however.
During a February 5 mailbag post on X, a fan asked Kaboly the following question: “How much will the largest contract given out to a free agent be this year and what position group? (Bonus: Can guess the player correctly?)”
Kaboly kept his response simple, yet confident, answering: “Cornerback D.J. Reed – 3 years, $43.5 million.”
Would Steelers Splurge on Top-Ranked CB D.J. Reed in NFL Free Agency?
The widespread consensus around the league is that Reed — a veteran cornerback of the New York Jets known for being the “Robin” to Sauce Gardner’s “Batman” — is one of the top 10 free agents in 2025.
If you break it down by position, he’s typically ranked either No. 1 or No. 2 for all cornerbacks.
Pro Football Focus currently has Reed ranked sixth overall and first among cornerbacks — although fellow defensive back and safety Jevon Holland is higher on their list.
“Reed is set to enter free agency after earning his sixth straight season-long 70.0-plus PFF overall grade,” PFF reasoned. “His 70.1 coverage grade in 2024 ranked 31st among qualifying cornerbacks. He excelled in PFF’s advanced metrics, boasting a 51.28% lockdown percentage.”
For the most part, CBS Sports analyst Tyler Sullivan agreed with this assessment, placing Reed as the No. 1 free agent cornerback — again, behind only Holland for all UFA DBs. Having said that, Sullivan actually ranked Reed one spot higher overall, projecting him as the fifth best overall free agent in 2025.
Pro Football Network’s Ben Rolfe ranked Reed the lowest of the three sites, but he still had the Jets CB inside the top 10 at No. 8. For the first time, Reed was not the top-rated cornerback as Byron Murphy Jr. was placed ahead of him at No. 6 overall.
“In terms of pure cover corners, D.J. Reed is perhaps the top option in free agency,” Rolfe acknowledged. “While his passer rating allowed (87.1) ranked just 50th this season, it is his consistency that is key. That was the highest passer rating allowed by Reed since his second year in the league. That is five years with a passer rating allowed of 87.1 or lower.”
Reed has also allowed a limited number of touchdowns per season, but the PFN analyst did question if he’s truly a “clear-cut number-one corner” that teams avoid.
The good news is that the Steelers already have a No. 1 cornerback in Porter, so Reed would be slotting into a role that he’s grown accustomed to across from Gardner. But you still have to wonder if Pittsburgh would allocate another $43.5 million ($14.5 million per year) into a defense that’s already very well-paid.
A D.J. Reed Signing Would Mean Donte Jackson’s Steelers Days Are Over
This is an interesting prediction from Kaboly, because it’s basically a two-in-one. If the Steelers sign Reed to a contract that pays $14.5 million per season, there’s simply no way that they’re also reuniting with Jackson.
So, in a sense, Kaboly is predicting that Pittsburgh will end up letting Jackson walk as well.
The Carolina Panthers trade acquisition spoke very highly of head coach Mike Tomlin following the 2024 campaign. And he appeared to really enjoy his time with the Steelers.
For that reason, it’s hard to completely rule out Jackson re-signing, but it’s also always possible that Pittsburgh decides they’d prefer to upgrade on him as Kaboly alluded.
Either way, there are a lot of intriguing storylines for the Steelers this offseason and CB2 is certainly one of them. We’ll have to wait and see how it all shakes out in a little over a month.
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