On January 15, 1989, Lake played in the
East-West Shrine Game and was part of the West who lost 24–6 to the East. On January 21, 1989, Lake was part of
Los Angeles Rams' head coach
John Robinson's South team that defeated the North 13–12. Lake played safety in both games as multiple teams were interested in moving him to safety as he was considered to be too small to continue to play linebacker professionally.
Pittsburgh Steelers The
Pittsburgh Steelers selected Lake in the second round (34th overall) of the
1989 NFL draft. Lake was the third safety drafted in 1989.
1989 On May 10, 1989, the Pittsburgh Steelers signed Lake to a three-year,
$850,000 contract. Head coach
Chuck Noll named Lake the starting strong safety to begin his rookie season, alongside free safety
Thomas Everett and cornerbacks
Rod Woodson and
Dwayne Woodruff. Lake played his first three seasons under defensive backs coach
John Fox. He made his professional regular season debut and first career start in the
Pittsburgh Steelers' season-opening 51–0 loss to the
Cleveland Browns. On October 15, 1989, Lake recorded five combined tackles, made two pass deflections, recovered a fumble, and made his first career interception during a 17–7 win at the Cleveland Browns in Week 6. Lake made a one-handed interception off of a pass by Browns' quarterback
Bernie Kosar. His exceptional performance in Week 6 earned him AFC Defensive Player of the Week Award. In Week 9, Lake made his first career sack on Broncos' quarterback
John Elway in the Steelers' 34–7 loss at the
Denver Broncos. He finished his rookie season in
1989 with 70 combined tackles, six fumble recoveries, two forced fumbles, one interception, and one sack in 15 games and 15 starts. The
Pittsburgh Steelers finished the season third in the
AFC Central with a 9–7 record and earned a wildcard berth. On December 31, 1989, Lake started in his first career playoff game as the Steelers defeated the
Houston Oilers 26–23 in the AFC Wildcard Game. The following week, they lost 24–23 at the
Denver Broncos in the AFC Divisional Round.
1990 The Pittsburgh Steelers promoted linebackers coach
Dave Brazil to defensive coordinator after
Rod Rust accepted the head coaching position with the
New England Patriots. Brazil retained Lake and Thomas Everett as the starting safety tandem in 1990. Lake started in all 16 games in
1990 and recorded 67 combined tackles, two forced fumbles, a fumble recovery, an interception, and a sack.
1991 Head coach Chuck Noll retained Lake and Thomas Everett as the starting safety tandem in 1991, along with cornerbacks
Rod Woodson and
D. J. Johnson. On December 27, 1991, Pittsburgh Steelers' head coach
Chuck Noll announced his decision to retire after the Steelers finished with a 7–9 record in 1991. He started in all 16 games in
1991 and recorded 83 combined tackles and a sack.
1992 On January 21, 1992, the Pittsburgh Steelers announced the hiring of former
Kansas City Chiefs' defensive coordinator
Bill Cowher as their new head coach. On January 31, 1992, Cowher announced the hiring of former
New Orleans Saints' secondary coach
Dom Capers as their new defensive coordinator. On August 24, 1992, the Pittsburgh Steelers signed Lake to a three-year contract. Head coach Bill Cowher retained Lake the starting strong safety in 1992. Lake started alongside free safety
Darren Perry and cornerbacks Rod Woodson and D.J. Johnson. He started in all 16 games in
1992 and recorded 85 combined tackles and two sacks.
1993 Lake and Darren Perry returned as the starting safety duo in 1993 and played under defensive backs coach
Dick LeBeau. On September 12, 1993, Lake collected a season-high 11 combined tackles, but was carted off the field due to an injury as the Steelers lost 27–0 at the
Los Angeles Rams in Week 2. His injury sidelined him for the next two games (Weeks 3–4). In Week 13, Lake recorded six combined tackles and made a season-high two sacks on Oilers quarterback
Warren Moon in the Steelers' 23–3 loss at the
Houston Oilers. On December 13, 1993, Lake recorded six combined tackles and made an interception off a pass by Dolphins' quarterback
Steve DeBerg during a 21–20 victory at the
Miami Dolphins in Week 13. He finished the season with 91 combined tackles, five sacks, a career-high four interceptions, two fumble recoveries, and a forced fumble in 14 games and 14 starts.
1994 Head coach Bill Cowher retained Lake and Darren Perry as the starting safeties in 1994. He started in the
Pittsburgh Steelers' season-opener against the
Dallas Cowboys and recorded a season-high 12 combined tackles in their 26–9 loss. On December 16, 1994, it was announced that Lake was selected to play in the
1995 Pro Bowl as the Starting Strong Safety, to mark the first Pro Bowl selection of his career. He started in all 16 games in 1994 and recorded 68 combined tackles, three forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, a sack, and an interception. August 15, 1995, the Pittsburgh Steelers signed Lake to a four-year,
$9.20 million
contract that includes a
signing bonus of $2 million. Lake and Darren Perry returned as the starting safeties to begin the regular season. In Week 6, he collected a season-high eight combined tackles during a 20–16 loss at the
Jacksonville Jaguars. Lake was moved to cornerback and replaced
Alvoid Mays after the Pittsburgh Steelers' defense allowed
Bengals' quarterback
Jeff Blake to throw three touchdown passes in a 27-9 loss on October 19. Head coach Bill Cowher moved Lake to cornerback for the remainder of the season as a replacement for Rod Woodson, who tore his ACL in the season-opener against the
Detroit Lions. On December 15, 1995, it was announced that Lake was selected to the
1996 Pro Bowl as a safety. Lake started in all 16 games in
1995 and recorded 63 combined tackles, 1.5 sacks, one interception, a forced fumble, and fumble recovery. The following week, the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the
Indianapolis Colts 20–16 in the AFC Championship Game. On January 28, 1996, Lake recorded five combined tackles as the Steelers lost 27–17 to the
Dallas Cowboys in
Super Bowl XXX.
1996 On December 13, 1996, it was announced that Lake was selected to play in the
1997 Pro Bowl, marking the third consecutive
Pro Bowl selection or his career.
1997 In 1997, Lake was named AFC Defensive Player of the Year by the
Kansas City Committee of 101. For the second time, Lake played the majority of the season at corner. He also received a vote for MVP from
Sports Illustrated writer
Peter King, which created a situation where Barry Sanders and Brett Favre tied for the award that season.
Jacksonville Jaguars In 1999, Lake departed the Pittsburgh Steelers and joined the
Jacksonville Jaguars in free agency. The Jaguars signed Lake to a four-year,
$18 million contract which made him the highest paid safety in the league. Lake was moved to a new position as free safety, making the Pro Bowl for a fifth time. He was reunited with Jaguars' defensive coordinator
Dom Capers, who had previously held the same position with the Pittsburgh Steelers. On August 17, 2000, Lake underwent surgery on a recurring injury to his left foot and was expected to miss the entire
2000 NFL season. Lake elected to have a bone graft and had a piece of his hip bone grafted to his injured left foot. Lake had undergone a surgery on his foot in March due to a stress fracture in the navicular bone near his ankle. He underwent another surgery on the foot in May and returned to training camp in August. On September 2, 2001, the Jaguars released Lake in a salary cap-related maneuver.
Baltimore Ravens On September 11, 2001, the
Baltimore Ravens signed Lake to a one-year,
$477,000 contract at the veteran minimum. Lake was reunited Baltimore Ravens' defensive coordinator
Marvin Lewis, who was a linebackers coach with the
Pittsburgh Steelers from 1992 to 1995, and former teammates
Rod Woodson and
Leon Searcy. ==Coaching career==