The Pittsburgh Steelers secondary has proven to be the team’s biggest question mark this offseason. The questions and shuffling continued after their first preseason game as cornerback Doran Grant was spotted taking reps at safety over the last two days.

Doran Grant working with the safeties again today. Perhaps coinciding with return of Artie Burns to practice. — James C Wexell (@jimwexell) August 15, 2016

Mike Tomlin shrugged off the move and told the media not to read too much into it. When asked after practice about the move he told reporters, “We’re going to bounce people around positionally. I wouldn’t read too much into that. He’s always been a guy we thought is capable of doing some things in there. You know, multiple positional guys is attractive to us.”

It does appear that the Steelers are finding themselves in love with defensive players who show versatility. In this most recent draft class second round pick Sean Davis was a cornerback drafted to play safety but will shift back to cornerback, and third-round pick Javon Hargrave can essentially play in any technique or scheme on the defensive line. Add in Anthony Chickillo, a 3-4 defensive end at the University of Miami now playing 3-4 outside linebacker in Pittsburgh and Doran Grant of last year and a trend is starting to form.

The move of Grant may be a bit surprising given that Senquez Golson is essentially done for the year and cornerback is a major area of concern, but at the same time so is safety. Ross Ventrone just went down with a hamstring injury, and if they consider Davis as a corner, the bigger need is almost certainly at safety.

With Davis being a better option than Grant in the slot, Grant can essentially take a role as a fifth cornerback behind Davis, William Gay, Ross Cockrell, and Artie Burns, and as the fourth safety behind Shamarko Thomas, Robert Golden, and Mike Mitchell. It may be a quicker way for Grant to see the field as Golden only has made four starts, and Thomas has proven he should not be trusted with a significant role. With him and Davis being hybrids, it makes it much more likely the team will only carry nine defensive backs this season and use the spot that Ventrone would have taken on another position.

For the time being this is a small tidbit to watch for. However, watching to see where Grant plays, and how often he plays at each position should be something very interesting as we get closer to the team’s second preseason game against the Philadelphia Eagles.