On Thursday, Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon returned to practice. Witherspoon remains on IR but is now designated to return and the Steelers have 21 days to determine if he can get back on the field.
One player who remains on IR is fellow cornerback William Jackson III. The Steelers traded for Jackson at the trade deadline but placed him on IR with a back injury less than two weeks after. Jackson has been eligible to return for some time but remains on IR and the 2022 season looks to be a wash for the former first-round pick.
If Jackson doesn’t play this season, it’s unlikely he returns for 2023. Jackson’s 2023 salary is completely bloated with a $12.75 million cap hit. There’s no chance the Steelers are going to pay him that without at least seeing him on the field this season. If he is cut before June 1, the Steelers would have no dead money on the books.
Thankfully, if this doesn’t work out the Steelers are only on the hook for that seventh-round pick they traded away to get him. The Steelers couldn’t have anticipated this would happen and the rest of the secondary has played well despite being shorthanded for much of the season.
