Aug 23, 2017 4 min read

PITTSBURGH – Like a David Bowie song, the Steelers still don’t know what they’re waiting for in their secondary.

But it could include plenty of changes.

Wednesday’s practice might have given a glimpse into some of those shifts in the lineup as veteran Coty Sensabaugh, a free agent pickup, saw plenty of action with the first-team defense, trading time with Ross Cockrell. First-year cornerback Mike Hilton saw time with the first-team nickel defense in the slot, splitting time with William Gay.

They were moves some felt might be coming sooner rather than later. And with the Steelers expected to extend the play of their first-team units in their third preseason game Saturday against Indianapolis, head coach Mike Tomlin felt the time was now.

Both players are castoffs by other teams, Sensabaugh last year by the Rams and Hilton by Jacksonville and New England.

It helped make them more hungry to prove themselves.

“Whatever it takes for this team to win,” said Sensabaugh, who has 29 career starts. “Wherever this team needs me at, I’m more than happy to do it.”

The Steelers went into the offseason trying to make changes in a secondary that made improvements in 2016, moving to 16th in the league after ranking 30th in 2015. But the pass defense was torched in the AFC Championship in a loss to New England and the Steelers went into the offseason wanting to be able to play more man-to-man coverage.

Sensabaugh, 28, is entering his sixth NFL season, having spent the first five in Tennessee. He signed a three-year, $15-million contract with the Rams in 2016 after making 15 starts and picking off two passes with the Titans in 2015.

The Rams were hoping he could play on the outside in their defense but cut him just a month into the season. He signed a one-year deal with the Giants, who moved him back into the slot.

The Steelers signed him to a two-year, $2.6-million contract this offseason.

“Honestly, it hasn’t been that difficult because I was here all offseason. And it wasn’t that difficult last year with the Rams,” said Sensabaugh, who also got some first-team work at training camp when Artie Burns was out of the lineup for a week.

“When you get a full offseason, you get a chance to learn the playbook and learn the guys, it’s a whole lot easier. Last year, going to the Giants, I got there in Week 5. I got there on a Tuesday morning on a red eye from L.A. I started practicing that day. Not only was I trying to learn the playbook, we were game planning for Baltimore. That was like the hardest week of my life in football.”

Hilton was one of the stars of the team’s training camp and has continued to make plays in Pittsburgh’s two preseason games. He’s got five tackles, a sack, two quarterback pressures, has recovered a fumble and recorded a team-high three special teams tackles.

“I’m just blessed for the opportunity,” said Hilton, who spent time with Jacksonville and New England last season before being signed to the Steelers practice squad last December.

“This has been a great situation for me.”

Sensabaugh is hoping it works out the same way for him.

He’s now seen a lot of different aspects of the business side of the NFL, from reaching free agency and signing a big contract to being released.

And he wouldn’t change any of it.

“The L.A. situation was the best thing that happened to me in my career,” Sensabaugh said. “It taught me a lot about myself. It showed me how to fight through even more adversity than I thought I had previously in my career and in my personal life.”

Odds and end zones

The Steelers traded for a cornerback and made a pair of roster moves Wednesday, releasing running back Brandon Brown-Dukes and waived/injured cornerback Greg Ducre. The team signed receiver Justin Thomas and cornerback Antonio Crawford. The Steelers also traded center Lucas Crowley to Washington for CB Dashaun Phillips, a third-year man who started two games for the Redskins last season. … The Steelers will hold a final practice Thursday before hosting the Colts Saturday.