Steelers to cut another stalwart of their defensive backfield
reshape their defensive backfield for years, but various draft picks have not worked out and Gay was able to continue playing. The Steelers selected cornerback Senquez Golson in the second round and Doran Grant in the fourth round of the 2015 draft, but neither played a game for the Steelers. Cornerback Artie Burns was taken in the first round of the 2016 draft and took over for Gay as the starter midway through the 2016 season.
The Steelers again selected a cornerback last spring when they took Cameron Sutton in the third round. Sutton missed most of last season because of an injury, but he is expected to have a larger role in his second season. The Steelers also used a fifth-round pick on Brian Allen and carried him on the 53-man roster the entire season.
Gay leaves the Steelers with an impressive streak still intact. He has played in 176 of a possible 176 games, the longest active streak for any NFL defensive player. Not only did Gay never miss a game due to injury, but he never was inactive.
Gay told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in January that his streak was in jeopardy only once. In 2009, he was concussed during a Sunday home game against the Raiders, but he played four days later in Cleveland.
“This was before the mandatory seven-day sit-out period [for concussions],” Gay said. “Under the new rule, I would have missed that game. But other than that, there were no games where I [thought] I was not going to play. I have to not be walking to not play.”
In addition to his contributions on the field, the Steelers coaches valued Gay’s leadership because of the way he handled his decreased playing time. Not only did Gay lose his starting job to Burns in 2016, but he was beaten out for the slot corner job by undrafted free agent Mike Hilton last summer in training camp.
Gay never let any of it interfere with his leadership.
“It wasn’t difficult because that’s the responsibility of being the veteran in the group,” Gay said before the final home game of his Steelers career. “That just didn’t start this year. That dates back to 2010, 2011. I was younger, but the guys would come to me and say, ‘Will, what are the tendencies?’ It got to the point where Troy [Polamalu] even trusted me. To get Troy to trust you at a young age, it speaks volumes. He’d come to me on the sidelines: ‘Hey, Gay, what did you see?’ “I’ve been doing the coaching part. Now it’s just a different role, but I give the same energy each and every week.”
Gay said he would like to continue playing as long as he can. When his playing career ends, he would like to coach.
Kicker Boswell tendered
The Steelers have placed a second-round tender on place kicker Chris Boswell, a restricted free agent who can seek other offers from NFL teams. The tender for $2.9 million will be his salary for the 2018 season if he cannot come to terms on a longterm deal. If Boswell receives a better offer from another team, the Steelers would receive a secondround pick as compensation if they don’t choose to match the offer.
Boswell has been one of the most consistent kickers in the league since the Steelers signed him four games into the 2015 season. Last season, Boswell was 35 for 39 on field-goal attempts for a career-best 92.1 percent success rate. For his career, Boswell has made 89.5 percent of his kicks.
The Steelers would like to sign Boswell to a long-term contract, but that could be difficult considering the market for place-kickers. Last week, Graham Gano, whose career percentage is 81.7 percent, signed a fouryear deal worth $17 million, including $9 million guaranteed.
Boswell is coming off a Pro Bowl season and is likely to want more in his contract. If Boswell does not sign a long-term deal before the season, the Steelers would be taking a chance on one of the league’s top kickers hitting the open market next year at this time.