Welcome to the terrible take many podcasts telling Steelers Nation what's on our mind.

I'm Josh Carney.

With the caveat of it being super early in training camp out of the way,

one development Thursday during the first true

practice of Pittsburgh Steelers training camp in Laitrobe was, well, rather concerning.

Defensively, veteran cornerback Duke Dawson saw first-team reps at slot corner for the Steelers.

Yes, you heard that right. Duke Dawson.

The slot has been a real concern for the Steelers after losing Cameron Sutton and

releasing Arthur Millett later in the off-season.

Veterans like Dawson and Shannon Sullivan were brought in to compete for the role,

but those names don't leave all warm and fuzzy feelings at least for me.

Dawson getting a shot at the job isn't a surprise.

GM Omar Khan talked earlier in the off season and mentioned Dawson and Sullivan by name, stating he felt comfortable with the

options in the slot with those two.

But Dawson getting first-team reps right out of the gate in the slot after the off season is quite the

surprise. Yes, he's a veteran in the NFL so it's not like the Steelers are putting

a guy out there with no experience overall.

Dawson's a former second round pick of the New England Patriots.

He never took a snap for that team and last saw the field in 2020 for the Denver Broncos three years ago. In his career he's appeared in 26 games,

starting four and has just 27 tackles. But he has a body type and play style that fits what Pittsburgh wants in the slot, bringing

a level of physicality and an ability to cover in a smaller stature overall. He has good ball skills too. But Dawson, potentially

being a starter in the slot for the Steelers is concerning.

...