Breaking: Veteran Cornerbacks Demand to Leave, Steelers in Turmoil Forced to Take Unprecedented Action

PITTSBURGH — With a plethora of free agency decisions to be made by the Pittsburgh Steelers, one of the players who they’ll need to make a decision on is cornerback Donte Jackson.

Jackson joined the team as part of the trade that sent Diontae Johnson to the Carolina Panthers, and a draft pick that was used to select Logan Lee was part of the compensation sent by the Panthers to Pittsburgh.

After a season that saw him perform well in the first three quarters of the year, amassing five interceptions, he regressed along with the rest of the Steelers defense for the last couple games. That being said, he made a large impact on the defensive prowess that the Steelers boasted for much of the season. His first career playoff game came in the Steelers loss to the Ravens in the Wild Card round.

According to Spotrac, a contract database for major sports leagues, Donte Jackson’s value when in the free agent market could be around $12 million per year.

In his one-year contract with the Steelers, Jackson signed a $6 million contract that included a $4.75 million signing bonus.

Whether the $12 million number is correct remains to be seen, but his talent speaks for itself. His ability to track down receivers has shown to be exemplary. One concern with Jackson is his age, as he would be entering his 8th season and will turn 30 years old during the coming season. It is possible he improves on this season, but it is not possible to know when he has hit his peak performance.

The Steelers have $43 million in cap space, and will likely use much of that to address concerns on the offensive side of the ball. If they can get a free agent for less, such as D.J. Reed or Byron Murphy, they might opt to do so instead.