The Steelers are adding another defensive back to their stellar defense. Pittsburgh is set to sign defensive back Desmond King, most recently of the Houston Texans, to a deal. 

To make space on the 53-man roster, the Steelers released punter Braden Mann, one of two punters the Steelers had kept as part of their initial finalized roster on Tuesday.

King, who is coming off of two seasons down in Houston, is a veteran addition to a Steelers defense that has a unique blend of both young and experienced players. 

At 28 years old, the former fifth round pick has six years of NFL experience. Starting out with the Chargers back in 2017, King played three full seasons in Los Angeles and started a fourth, before he was traded midseason to the Tennessee Titans for a 2021 sixth round pick. 

With the Chargers, King was named an All-Pro in 2018 for his work as both a defensive back and a punt returner. 

After his brief stint in Tennessee, King left for Houston, signing on for two seasons before his somewhat surprising release by the Texans this week. King was primarily playing slot corner while with the Chargers, but was shifted over to the outside while in Houston. 

King has a ton of experience with returns as well, returning 101 punts and 57 kickoffs over his NFL career. 

He has just one punt return touchdown, coming of course against the Steelers during the 2018 season. 

With the electric Calvin Austin already seemingly having the return duties locked up, it’s unlikely King continues that line of work in Pittsburgh. However, if Austin has trouble replicating his preseason success against starting level defenses, or goes down with injury at any point, maybe King sees some action in that department again. 

Not many players on this Pittsburgh roster have much experience with returns; wide receiver Diontae Johnson did some in his rookie season, but that was about it. 

On the defensive aspect, however, King contributed on 89 total tackles last season, 10 of which were tackles for loss. In his two seasons as a Texan, King intercepted 5 passes and defended 14 others. 

Over his entire NFL career, the Detroit native has 9 interceptions to go along with 33 defended passes. In addition to that, King also has recovered 7 fumbles. 

He should be a solid addition to a Steelers defense that had a very strong preseason, and looks poised for an incredible 2023.

(Featured photo by Matt Patterson/AP)