Steelers make a trade with the Seahawks for CB Ahkello Witherspoon

The Steelers have made a trade for cornerback help, and it comes in the form of a player named Ahkello Witherspoon.

The Pittsburgh Steelers needed help at the cornerback position, and this isn’t breaking news. How they got that help had yet to be determined, until now. According to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, the Steelers are making a trade with the Seattle Seahawks for CB Ahkello Witherspoon.

The trade means the Steelers now add a valuable asset to their defensive secondary. Now, you have to think the defense will have more options than forcing someone like Cam Sutton to play in a position which doesn’t necessarily maximize their overall potential.

Witherspoon was a third-round draft pick by the San Francisco 49ers in the 2017 NFL draft. In his four seasons in San Francisco, Witherspoon appeared in 47 games with 33 starts during the regular season. Witherspoon also added four interceptions with two coming in his rookie season. During the 2021 offseason, Witherspoon signed a one-year, $4 million contract with the Seattle Seahawks. The structure of the contract had a $2.5 million signing bonus and a $1.5 million base salary. It is unclear at this time if the Steelers have a greed to take on any of the signing bonus.

With the addition of Witherspoon, here is what the team’s cornerback depth looks like:

Joe Haden
Cam Sutton
James Pierre
Justin Layne
Arthur Maulet
Ahkello Witherspoon

How the Steelers utilize Witherspoon has yet to be determined. Will he be possibly playing on the outside opposite Haden, or will he be asked to play the interior? What else isn’t known at this time is what the Steelers gave up for Witherspoon’s services. With so many unknowns, there will be more coming from this story.

Be sure to stay tuned to BTSC for the latest news and notes surrounding the Steelers as they not only welcome Witherspoon to Pittsburgh, but as they prepare for the Buffalo Bills in Week 1 of the 2021 regular season.