The Pittsburgh Steelers needed solid depth at cornerback. For a while, that came in the form of Darius Slay. But in their Week 13 loss to the Buffalo Bills, head coach Mike Tomlin made his move with Asante Samuel Jr. The Steelers bumped the corner from the practice squad to the active roster, and now that change has become permanent. They’ve signed him to the 53-man roster officially, a clear sign they see him as part of the stretch-run plan.

Samuel Jr. wasn’t some random depth corner. Pittsburgh had brought him in as a free agent signing in mid-November to let him finish his recovery and get back in football shape. Samuel Jr. had notably undergone a spinal fusion surgery in the offseason under Steelers’ neurosurgeon David Okonkwo, further boosting the Steelers’ confidence in bringing him in.

He finally made his Steelers debut against Buffalo and clearly looked ready for more. Even in that Week 13 26-7 loss, Samuel Jr. played 28 defensive snaps, held up on the outside, and didn’t look like a player shaking off rust. With injuries in the secondary and the schedule tightening for the final stretch, Mike Tomlin needed a corner who could step in right now, not a developmental body.

The fallout from this move hit a big name. To make room, the Steelers waived veteran corner Darius Slay, who had signed a one-year deal in March to be a stabilizing presence in the cornerback room. But it just never really clicked. He battled injuries, lost his starting job, and a concussion in the Bills game sealed his fate. He decided to part ways with Steel City and seek his fortune elsewhere. But as Mike Tomlin spelled it out, their move wasn’t as much about Slay as it was about Samuel Jr.

“Really it was less about Slay and more about getting an opportunity to see Asante Samuel,” Coach Tomlin told the media Tuesday, December 2. “He’s a global NFL starter type who’s been on our practice squad. This time of year, as attrition sets in, you step into stadiums week in and week out, things happen, and we certainly want to have an opportunity to see him in stadium before we maybe had to make a decision on him, before someone else forced our hand.”

Before Asante Samuel Jr. signed up with the Steelers, he had garnered a lot of interest from multiple teams. If he had stayed on the practice squad, the calls would have kept coming. Instead, Samuel Jr. now shores up a defense trying to keep its season alive. With 40+ career starts, six picks, and a whole lot of pass breakups in his resume, he’s back in an every-Sunday conversation.

And he steps into a thin room. James Pierre is in concussion protocol, and the depth chart has been shuffled all year. With the Baltimore Ravens’ physical offense looming in Week 14, Samuel Jr. could shoulder a big chunk of the burden from here on out.

Now, all of these developments would have been enough drama on their own. But then Asante Samuel Sr. grabbed a mic and put his son right in the middle of another storm. His target wasn’t a random corner or coach either. It was DK Metcalf, quarterback Aaron Rodgers’ high-profile wideout in Pittsburgh’s offense.

Asante Samuel Sr. vs. DK Metcalf

DK Metcalf arrived in Pittsburgh in a headline trade from the Seattle Seahawks, then signed a massive extension and was immediately pegged as Aaron Rodgers’ go-to weapon. But the early returns haven’t really matched the price tag, and many around the league have already questioned whether the Steelers are losing that deal. Now, Asante Samuel Sr. joins that fray.

“He’s a non-factor. He is most of the problem,” Samuel Sr. dropped his verdict. “Aaron Rodgers needs someone to throw to. He’s used to having elite receivers that can suddenly get open. DK Metcalf can’t provide that for Aaron Rodgers, and DK Metcalf is the reason that Aaron Rodgers is looking so old. Because he keeps trying to throw to DK Metcalf the football and he is not even getting an ounce of separation, especially when he’s going against press coverage.”

Metcalf’s numbers tell the story. He has only caught 45 of his 75 targets so far, and hasn’t been able to haul in a touchdown in his last five games. When the defenses bear down on him, he’s struggling to shake them off. What’s more, Aaron Rodgers had notably hinted publicly at frustration with his receivers’ preparation and execution, implying that many have been missing meetings.

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“When there’s film sessions, everybody shows up, and when I check to a route, you do the right route,” Rodgers had said when asked about improving his chemistry with the receivers. “We have our meetings every week. We have other opportunities outside of the facility, and [I] look forward to seeing all the boys there.”

For Asante Samuel Jr., this is the tricky part. He just earned a real shot with a playoff-hopeful defense, and suddenly his dad is having a go at one of the franchise’s biggest stars. Altogether, that’s the line now for Pittsburgh. Tomlin has made his call on the secondary: Samuel Jr. in, Slay out. On offense, Rodgers and Metcalf still have to figure it out with the season on the line. With the Baltimore matchup coming next, we’ll see how these storylines shore up.