Steelers Sign Bucs Veteran Cornerback

The Pittsburgh Steelers are adding a veteran cornerback to their 53-man roster ahead of their Week 5 matchup at home against the Indianapolis Colts.

According to The Ringer's Tom Pelissero, the Steelers have signed Sean Murphy-Bunting off the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' practice squad.

The Steelers are signing veteran CB Sean Murphy-Bunting off the Bucs' practice squad, per source.

Murphy-Bunting has played in 82 NFL games (65 starts) and has 11 career interceptions. Some experienced depth for Pittsburgh after the Joey Porter Jr. trade. pic.twitter.com/waUZp7F8Jg
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) October 5, 2026

After trading Joey Porter Jr. to the Dallas Cowboys last week for a 2028 second-round pick and 2027 conditional sixth-rounder, the Steelers were in need of another veteran corner.

Jamel Dean, a former teammate of Murphy-Bunting's during the latter's first stint in Tampa Bay, suffered an ankle injury in Pittsburgh's Week 4 loss to the Cleveland Browns that could keep him off the field for a couple of weeks as well, further pushing the team to go out and add to their cornerback room.

Murphy-Bunting has not appeared in a regular season game since 2024, as his entire 2025 campaign was wiped out due to a torn ACL he suffered that March.

The 29-year-old has plenty of experience, though, making 65 starts and playing in a total of 82 games. Over that span, he has posted 297 tackles, 11 interceptions and eight forced fumbles.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting (23) celebrates an interception during the 2nd quarter of the Green Bay Packers game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC championship playoff game Sunday, Jan. 24, 2021, at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis. Packers Packers25 Mjd 07691 | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

How Will Murphy-Bunting Fit in Pittsburgh?

Given how massive of a hole Pittsburgh has at cornerback now that Porter Jr. is gone and Dean could be sidelined for a few games, Murphy-Bunting is a candidate to see the field on defense in some capacity for the Steelers right from the jump.

Asante Samuel Jr. and Daylen Everette figure to remain the starters on the boundary for the time being while Jalen Ramsey handles his usual duties between playing in the slot and at safety.

Murphy-Bunting will join Brandin Echols and Doneiko Slaughter, who took Porter Jr.'s spot on the 53-man roster, as Pittsburgh's reserve corners.

Though he was almost exclusively a boundary corner in 2023 for the Tennessee Titans and in 2024 with the Cardinals, which would give him the leg-up as the primary backup behind Samuel Jr. and Everette for now over Echols and Slaughter, Murphy-Bunting did spend a good amount of time in the slot at the beginning of his career with the Bucs.

Perhaps his positional versatility in that aspect will come into play for the Steelers down the line, and it'll become all the more valuable once Dean returns down the line.

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