‘Life Takes You Different Places’: Anthony Averett Didn’t Expect To Be Tryout Player For Steelers

Entering Year 7 in the NFL, veteran cornerback Anthony Averett never expected to find himself as a tryout player during rookie minicamp with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Yet, there he is, one of the 21 tryout players on the Steelers’ rookie minicamp roster aiming to show the Steelers he can play and offer them some depth at the cornerback position.

It might not be what he expected, but he’s embracing the opportunity.

“I kind of just go. Yeah, I just go. Hey, rookie minicamp? Definitely, I didn’t really expect to be here my seventh year in,” Averett said regarding being a tryout player for the Steelers, according to video via the Tribune-Review’s Chris Adamski on Twitter. “But hey, you know, life takes you different places.”

Averett isn’t wrong for not expecting to be in this situation. But that’s how life goes in the NFL.

A former fourth-round pick of the Baltimore Ravens out of Alabama in the 2018 NFL Draft, Averett played for the Ravens for four seasons before spending the 2022 season with the Las Vegas Raiders. He was in training camp with the San Francisco 49ers last summer before being cut and landing on the Lions’ practice squad for the 2023 season.

After not receiving much interest as a free agent before the NFL Draft, Averett now finds himself trying to show the Steelers he has what it takes to provide depth and experience at the cornerback position entering his seventh season in the NFL.

The former Ravens cornerback turns 30 in November. He has played in 51 career games, with 47 career starts, in the NFL. He has recorded three interceptions, all of which came in 2021, when he started 14 games for the Ravens.

Averett has played 1,734 NFL snaps, according to Pro Football Focus, with 1,478 outside and just 139 snaps in the slot. Seeing those snap numbers, he would be a boundary-only cornerback for the Steelers, which is something they need from a depth perspective with experience as names like rookie Ryan Watts and veterans Cory Trice Jr., Darius Rush, Thomas Graham Jr., Luq Barcoo and Kalon Barnes are the other options behind Joey Porter Jr. and Donte Jackson.

Not exactly comforting, right?

Coming out of Alabama, Averett measured in at 5111, 183 pounds, and clocked a 4.36 40 at the 2018 NFL Scouting Combine.

We’ll see if he can take advantage of the rookie minicamp tryout with the Steelers and turn it into a contract. Based on how the Steelers’ roster looks currently, chances appear to be strong that they kick the tires on Averett, assuming he is healthy and shows something during the three-day rookie minicamp.