The Pittsburgh Steelers have released veteran cornerback Bryant McFadden, making an already weak secondary even more thin.
We have terminated the contracts of CB Bryant McFadden and WR Arnaz Battle. We also waived TE Miguel Chavis and LB Erik Clanton.
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) February 8, 2012
McFadden played sparingly in 2011, after starting every game – including the Super Bowl – for the Steelers in 2010. His release now leaves Ike Taylor and Cortez Allen as the only cornerbacks who saw action in 2011, still under contract for the 2012 season.
With so many question marks at the position, one has to wonder how the Steelers plan to improve one of the league’s weakest units. While the Steelers do have money to spend this offseason, there are relatively few options at cornerback in the free agent market.
However, there is a wealth of talent at the cornerback position in this year’s draft class with as many as 10 prospects potentially earning late 1st or 2nd round grades. If the Steelers are planning to target this position in the draft, they can be reasonably certain that at least three or four worthy prospects will be on the board at No. 24.
One potential target that comes to mind is Virginia Tech’s Jayron Hosley. While he is undersized, he would be a nice compliment to the bigger Ike Taylor, who is likely to remain their No. 1 corner. Hosley’s speed could be of particular interest to the Steelers, who know they need to find a way to contain the Ravens’ Torrey Smith twice per year.
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