Steven Nelson is known as a bit of a trash talker on the football field.
It's somewhat surprising considering he's pretty mild-mannered off it. In fact, in between working on learning the new playbook he's been given from the Steelers and settling into his new city with new teammates, he likes to find something relaxing to do.
For Nelson, that's finding a good spot to go bass fishing.
So while the rest of his new teammates were making big plans for something big or flying out of town, Nelson was thinking about catching something other than a flight.
"I’m going to be laying low," the Steelers' new corner told me Thursday. "I might get me a fishing license and head to North Park Lake. I went up there last weekend. It seemed like there’s a lot of people there."
Just don't ask him to go fishing on an island. As an NFL corner, he spends enough time there.
And that's one reason the Steelers felt the need to acquire the former Chiefs' corner in free agency, signing him to a three-year, $25.5-million deal, the largest the team has given to an outside free agent.
Nelson, who goes by @Nelson_Island on Twitter is used to the kind of pressure that comes with that kind of contract. He welcomed it with the signing with the Steelers.
"I knew what kind of work ethic I had to get where I needed," Nelson told me. "Free agency is just one of those things where you have to look for the best situation for you and your family. And also you have to look for a playoff contender. Obviously, this is a great organization to do that."
Nelson was a third-round draft pick of the Chiefs in 2015, playing slot corner that year. He moved into the starting lineup the next season.
Despite being a three-year starter and leading the Chiefs with four interceptions in 2018, Kansas City allowed him to head into free agency without a viable replacement in place.
Some viewed that as the Chiefs giving up on Nelson. And they've let him hear about it on social media -- often a cesspool of hate when a player changes teams.
But the fact of the matter is that Nelson covered more routes -- an astounding 570 -- than any other corner in football last season as Kansas City spent a lot of time playing with leads. Yes, he allowed 70 receptions for 850 yards and six touchdowns, but he also broke up 13 passes in addition to his interceptions.
He allowed a catch rate on passes thrown his way of just over 55 percent, and opposing quarterbacks had a passer rating of just 79.1 when targeting Nelson. Both of those ranked 15th in the league in 2018 according to playerprofiler.com.
Nelson bears no ill will toward the Chiefs or the fans who have attacked him on social media since he signed with the Steelers.
"A lot of fans don’t seem to know what’s going on. I try not to get into those arguments on Twitter," Nelson said. "I wish them the best. They gave me an opportunity there. I’m happy."
At 26, Nelson feels like he's found a home. He's settling in with his new teammates, who have welcomed him in as the hopeful answer at cornerback opposite Joe Haden. That duo could give the Steelers their best starting corners in this decade.
That's why, for Nelson, it's been important to be a regular at all of the team's OTA sessions and offseason program. He wants to hit the ground running when the season begins.
"It’s a different dynamic here and the way they run things here as opposed to Kansas City," Nelson said. "That’s why it was important for me to be here throughout the offseason workouts, just to get a feel for everything. That’s pretty much what I’ve been doing, taking it day by day and just trying to be productive at the same time."
He's feeling pretty good about the move as the Steelers ready to get together for their minicamp starting next week.
"It’s been a smooth transition for me just from the city to the team and organization," Nelson said. "Everybody has been pretty welcoming. I’ve been in the league for a little while, so I know what to expect a little bit."
Now, he just needs to find those good fishing spots.
MORE STEELERS
• How much are the Steelers working on regaining the family feel they've always had? Thursday, after the team completed its final OTA session, Cam Heyward hosted a cookout for the entire team. All 90 of them. Heyward has been outspoken about showing greater leadership in 2019. And that's a great way to do so. After all, it worked for Jerome Bettis, whose mom, Gladys hosted the entire team for a dinner prior to Super Bowl XL. -- Lolley
• The Steelers now have all nine of their draft picks signed and have everyone under contract for 2019 -- though corner Mike Hilton still has yet to sign his Exclusive Rights free agency deal. Hilton would like a long-term contract, but the problem is the Steelers have just under $1 million in available cap space. Hilton is currently slated to earn $645,000 in 2019. But he'd like a long-term deal. Unless the Steelers can create some space, that's unlikely. -- Lolley
PIRATES
• The player on the major-league roster most likely to become a major-league manager someday is Jacob Stallings. The backup catcher has taken on the de facto role of third pitching coach behind Ray Searage and Justin Meccage. Stallings catches most of the pitchers’ bullpen sessions between starts and they take his suggestions to heart. Chris Archer and Joe Musgrove have both given plenty of credit to Stallings in recent days. “He really understands pitching, the whole game” Archer told me. “He’s a really smart guy and a great communicator. He’s a valuable guy to have on our team.” Stallings comes from a coaching background. His father, Kevin, was a long-time basketball coach at the major-college level and success at Illinois State and Vanderbilt before two disastrous seasons at Pitt. – John Perrotto at PNC Park
• Cole Tucker has seemingly played good defense since being called up from Triple-A Indianapolis in April. However, the advanced metrics don’t agree as Tucker has minus-2 defensive runs saved. Scouts who have watched Tucker regularly aren’t sold on him being able to stay at shortstop because of his arm. He underwent shoulder surgery early in his professional career. One scout made the point to me that almost all of Tucker’s better defensive plays have come when his momentum is taking him toward first base because he lacks the arm strength to make plays in the hole. So, it could turn out that Tucker will be the Pirates’ long-term answer at second base rather than shortstop. -- Perrotto
• First base prospect Will Craig has been getting playing time in right field at Indianapolis. It’s a smart move by the Pirates as Craig is blocked by Josh Bell on the organizational depth chart and too talented to stay buried at Class AAA for multiple seasons. Craig certainly has the arm strength to play right field. The big question is if he has the range to handle the outfield. The Pirates are trying to find out. – Perrotto
• The Pirates have been desperate for bullpen help most of the season and have continually shuttled relievers between Indianapolis and Pittsburgh without success. That makes the case of Jesus Liranzo so perplexing. The big right-hander’s fastball tops out at 100 mph and sits in the upper 90s but he lacks command of it. Thus,the Pirates have not only passed over Liranzo for promotion but dropped him from the 40-man roster on Memorial Day when they traded for Orioles right-hander Yefry Ramirez. It was a telling sign that Liranzo cleared waivers this week and was outrighted to Indianapolis. It’s extremely rare for a pitcher who hits triple digits to get passed on by 29 teams. – Perrotto
PENGUINS
• If Phil Kessel's a goner, as I've been writing since the beginning of May, the current quantification of that probability is at 95 percent, I'm told. And if that comes across as 5 percent less than I've been reporting, so be it. The current vibe from the team is Jim Rutherford won't just give away an asset of this scope and he'd prefer not to have Kessel's trade simply result in cap relief. He'd like a real, help-right-away hockey return. That said, Rutherford always puts out word like this to ensure he doesn't look like he's desperate to get rid of someone. Even did it with Derick Brassard. -- DK
• No one's breathing a syllable about Evgeni Malkin or Kris Letang. Still. And moves of that scope tend not to sneak up on anyone. -- DK
• The player most likely to be traded, by the way, is the one least discussed. That's Tristan Jarry. He's signed for another year, but he'd have to clear waivers to get to the AHL next season, and that's not a risk Rutherford will run. He's fully committed to Casey DeSmith as Matt Murray's backup, and he won't lose Jarry for nothing. That's the primary reason the team just signed 22-year-old Emil Larmi out of Finland's top league to join a less developed prospect, Alex D'Orio, in Wilkes-Barre. The wish was to have someone available for recall who also comes with legit potential. -- DK
• Rutherford's as receptive to new concepts as any executive in the NHL, but he's also old-school to the core. When he's made some of his biggest trades, he's made them face to face. As Carolina's GM, he met with Ray Shero in a PPG Paints Arena office during the 2012 NHL Draft to acquire Jordan Staal from the Penguins. Two years later, having just joined the Penguins, Rutherford got the Patric Hornqvist/James Neal trade done right there on the floor in Philadelphia. When he didn't get Kessel the following year on the draft floor in Sunrise, Fla., he was visibly furious and got it done as soon as he flew home. What I'm saying: He's not leaving Vancouver without a deal. -- DK
• Reminder to our readers: Dave Molinari will be joining our site June 16. We'll fly together to cover the draft in Vancouver and all else that comes with that scene. Dave will, of course, be a regular and significant contributor to this particular feature. Right in his wheelhouse. -- DK
