It’s 5 o’clock somewhere…
The 5 o’clock club is published from time to time during the season, and aims to provide a forum for reader-driven discussion at a time of day when there isn’t much NFL news being published. Feel free to introduce topics that interest you in the comments below.
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In yesterday’s 5 O’Clock Club, we looked at the career of Noah Igbinoghene, a 2020 first-round pick of the Dolphins who never really established himself with Miami. Igbinoghene was traded to the Cowboys in a player-for-player swap last year, but spent most of the ‘23 season on the inactive list. He followed his coaches, Joe Whitt and Dan Quinn, from there to here when he signed as a free agent with the Commanders in March.
Today, I thought it might be good to look at Washington’s other free agent cornerback signing, James Pierre, who is in direct competition with Igbinoghene for a roster spot. Like Igbinoghene, PIerre entered the NFL in the COVID season of 2020; unlike Igbinoghene, Pierre was undrafted out of Florida Atlantic (alma mater of Redskins running back Alfred Morris). He signed with the Steelers in 2020, played 3 seasons under his UDFA contract, and then signed a one-year extension with them in 2023. His pre-NFL back-story is an interesting one that saw him change schools and positions on his way to an eventual NFL roster spot:
James Pierre committed to play football at the University of Miami (Florida) before his Junior year of High School ended. The safety out of Deerfield Beach had been a lifelong Hurricanes fan and signed a commitment the same day they offered it. A year later though, the Huricanes had fired coach Al Golden, and James Pierre de-committed. He was offered a scholarship to North Carolina, signed to play there, but the school denied him admission. Syracuse was next, he signed, they admitted him but the NCAA ruled Pierre ineligible.
Pierre wouldn’t play NCAA football in 2016, but joined Florida Atlantic in 2017 as a true freshman, having satisfied the NCAA and gaining eligibility. It’s a long way to fall from being a high school standout with a scholarship to play for the Miami Hurricanes to joining Florida Atlantic a year behind the rest of your class. His first season he played special teams, and over the course of the season earned playing time at safety. Part way into his sophomore season he would get the chance to start at cornerback, and he didn’t look back, starting 22 games in his sophomore and junior year, and earning honorable mention recognition in Conference USA.
Pierre left school early, but at the same age he would have if his freshman season hadn’t been delayed. He was touted as a day three draft pick but fell out of the draft entirely, signing with the Steelers as an undrafted free agent.
As a rookie, like most undrafted college free agents, Pierre was almost exclusively a special teams player; he saw the field for only 27 defensive snaps, with most of those coming in Week 18, ahead of a playoff game. But he enjoyed something of a mini-breakout season in 2021, when he was on the field for 36% of the Steelers defensive snaps. He followed that up with a 2022 season in which he played 24% of the defensive snaps. These aren’t bad numbers for a backup cornerback playing on a team that went to the playoffs in 3 of his 4 seasons.
However, Pierre’s contributions to the Pittsburgh team came primarily on special teams. Even when his defensive snap counts in 2023 reverted to the kinds of numbers he’d had as a rookie, he was seen as a valuable contributor to the roster that was expected to return to Pittsburgh for a 5th season:
Fourth-year veteran cornerback James Pierre played a career-low 26 defensive snaps in 2023. He also played a career-high 264 snaps on special teams.
And that’s fine. Actually, that doesn’t mean that he can’t play on defense by any means. He has proven in the past to be decent depth. The Steelers just didn’t — surprisingly — really need him in 2023. They had Joey Porter Jr. as a breakout rookie for one thing, and between Levi Wallace, Patrick Peterson and Chandon Sullivan they had their veterans. The defense also relied on three-safety looks — at least it did when the Steelers had three safeties available.
He continues to be the Steelers’ best gunner on the punt coverage team, which is his primary role.
Pierre is…an experienced depth option who could possibly be your number four cornerback on the outside with a bit of dime action.
In 674 defensive snaps (the equivalent of about 11 games for a full-time player) in 2021-22, Pierre had 8 passes defended, 2 interceptions, and 3 forced fumbles. He has proven himself capable of playing as a defensive backup on a good team.
Comparing Washington’s two free agent signings
Pierre’s special teams prowess contrasts with that of Noah Igbinoghene, who hasn’t been a full-time special teams player since his rookie season. Igbinoghene played 228 ST snaps over the past three seasons (‘21-23), which is fewer than Pierre played in 2023 alone.
Both players — Pierre and Igbinoghene — are backup CBs who play primarily as boundary defenders, though Pierre’s experience at safety for the Miami Hurricanes suggests that he has some positional flexibility if needed. On defense, Igbinoghene has 628 career snaps in 37 games while Pierre has 727 snaps in 66 games. After three seasons, the Steelers signed Pierre to an extension, while the Dolphins traded Igbinoghene away to the Cowboys. Pierre has over 900 career snaps as a 4-phase special teams player; Igbinoghene has less than 500 ST snaps,
The battle for the final CB roster spot
It seems to me that this will be one of the more intense positional battles in training camp and preseason this year. With Mike Sainristil and Quan Martin both capable of playing nickelback, and with three likely roster locks at boundary corner in Davis, Forbes and St-Juste, there will only be one or two backup spots available on the roster. It seems to me as if special teams play could be a difference-maker or a tie-breaker when it comes to keeping the last cornerback on the depth chart, which might play in favor of James Pierre.
In terms of contract and salary cap, there are a lot of similarities between the two free agent signings. Both players have a base salary of $1.125m; each has a roster bonus and workout bonus. Pierre has per game bonuses (Igbinoghene does not), and Pierre’s guaranteed salary is $50,000 while Igbinoghene’s is $200,000. There is a difference of just $4,000 in their estimated cap hits. In short, the contract structure probably won’t be a factor in the final roster decisions.
In addition to the two free agents acquired in March, the Commanders have four players returning at the position and competing for backup roles after being under contract with Washington in 2023:
- Christian Holmes
- Kyu Blu Kelly
- Tariq Castro-Fields
- Nick Whiteside