When training camp opened in late July, first-year cornerback Mike Hilton was an afterthought, a player signed to a futures contract at the end of the 2016 season.
He quickly emerged, however, as the team's nickel cornerback, a position he held throughout the regular season.
Tuesday, the Steelers signed Hilton to a one-year contract extension, ensuring the valuable cornerback would be back in 2018.
"It's been a great year," Hilton said Monday. "I still have a lot to work on. But it doesn't matter what I did. I wanted to get to the Super Bowl with this team. I wanted to be part of a Super Bowl-winning team. My year was good but I wish it could have been better."
Hilton did his part. He appeared in all 16 games and recorded 54 tackles, four sacks and two interceptions. Ten of his tackles were for a loss. He also had eight quarterback hits and six pass defenses.
His best game came in Week 16 at Houston when he became the first cornerback since the sack became an official statistic in 1982 to record three in a game.
Ironically, Hilton was a teammate of former second-round draft pick Senquez Golson in college at Ole Miss. Golson was selected in the 2015 draft but never appeared in a game with the Steelers because of injuries. The Steelers signed Hilton to their practice squad in December of 2016 following his release by both Jacksonville and New England.
In addition to Hilton, the Steelers also signed defensive end Lavon Hooks, linebacker Keith Kelsey and wide receivers Justin Thomas and Marcus Tucker to futures contracts. All were on the team's practice squad in 2017.
All four will hope to make the same impact Hilton did last season.