The Pittsburgh Steelers signed Darius Slay Jr. to a one-year, 10-million-dollar deal back in March with real hope he could help turn around their leaky secondary. Instead, the 34-year-old cornerback has become one of the biggest problems in an already struggling defense that ranks among the worst in the NFL this season.

His struggles have gotten so bad that head coach Mike Tomlin is now considering trading him before the deadline, according to ESPN’s Brooke Pryor. When Slay sat down with the media on Wednesday, before the Steelers will face the Colts in Week 9, he knew exactly what was coming. Asked to assess his own play, he didn’t hide from it.

“Myself? Yeah. I mean, I always get played better. You know, I ain’t been playing the best. But I’ve been playing, you know, decent,” Slay said. What he didn’t say, though, was far more telling than what he did.

He acknowledged, “And, I got a shirt on my end, for sure. I know I got a lot left. You know, I’m making some plays. But like how I feel, I think I be way more consistent… Overall.”

But his forced humility couldn’t mask the real issue. The numbers tell a much different story than anything Darius Slay Jr.’s words could explain. Through the first seven games, Slay’s performance has been a disaster in basically every way you measure cornerback play. He’s allowing a completion percentage of 76.7 percent, which ties for the worst mark of his entire career.

His passer rating against sits at 112.6, which is somehow even worse than that. Last season with the Eagles, he gave up a completion rate of just 54.7 percent and a passer rating of 81.9. The drop-off isn’t gradual. It’s a cliff.

The tackling problems tell an even uglier story. According to Steelers Depot’s analysis, Slay has missed eight tackles on the season with a missed tackle rate of 22.9 percent. The highest on the entire team. Over his last three games alone, he’s missed at least one tackle per game. His worst performance came in Week 7 against Cincinnati, when he was credited with three missed tackles in a single game.

The Cincinnati game basically laid everything bare. Joe Flacco and the offense took full advantage of a battered defense. Rather than bounce back with some positive plays to balance things out, Slay has continued down the same path week after week.

Darius Slay Jr. faces uncertain future as Steelers weigh trade options

Steelers Depot contributor Alex Kozora broke down exactly what’s going wrong. “Slay has looked every bit his age the past two games,” Kozora said.

“At 34 years old, he’s struggling to keep up with the speed of the receivers he’s facing. And his veteran savvy isn’t gaining an edge anymore. Tackling has also been a problem. His effort could be stronger with questionable goal-line finishes on Tee Higgins and Savion Williams’ touchdowns the past two weeks.”

Kozora added that for a defense already struggling this badly, every player needs to show maximum effort on every down. “For a defense struggling, every player needs to compensate with maximum effort. These plays don’t show it.”

The Steelers made a real effort to add experience and leadership to their secondary with this offseason overhaul. They signed Slay and traded for Jalen Ramsey to pair with Joey Porter Jr. On paper, that trio was supposed to be elite.

But the numbers show what happened next. With less than a week until the NFL trade deadline, the Steelers are facing a difficult decision. If another team wants to add veteran cornerback, the Steelers might be willing to deal him for even a late draft pick… Only to clear the salary cap and locker room space.