by J.T. Toth
Photo courtesy of Click2Houston.
The Pittsburgh Steelers signed cornerback Desmond King to a one-year contract after he was waived by the Houston Texans. The 7-year veteran was drafted in the 5th round of the 2017 NFL Draft by the Los Angeles Chargers and has also played for the Titans and Texans since then. He has been solid throughout his NFL career and has posted 9 interceptions, 2 of those he returned for touchdowns. King has also returned 2 punts for touchdowns in his career.
King will add depth to a position that the Steelers have been constantly improving this off-season. With Patrick Peterson, Levi Wallace and Joey Porter Jr. already on the depth chart, King will add some depth alongside James Pierre when it is needed.
Desmond King played college football at Iowa and captured the 2015 Jim Thorpe Awards after he finished 2nd in the FBS with 8 interceptions. The 5’10” 201 lb. cornerback is not afraid to get his nose dirty and has 182 tackles over the past two NFL seasons. He is not the fastest player on the field but has good anticipation and breaks on the ball well. Once the ball is in his hands, he becomes a playmaker with the skills to turn an interception into a score.
Draft 412 expects to see a lot of Desmond King in nickel and dime defensive packages and on special teams in a pinch.
As of the publishing of this article, the Steelers have not made any commensurate cuts from their 53-man roster to make room for King.
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