The Pittsburgh Steelers continued to plug holes in free agency, agreeing to terms with veteran safety DeShon Elliott on Thursday.
A league source confirmed the two-year, $6 million contract that was first reported by Bleacher Report.
A six-year NFL veteran, the 6-foot-1, 210-pound Elliott started all 16 games he played (including playoffs) for the Miami Dolphins last season. Elliot spent his first three NFL seasons with the Baltimore Ravens and in 2022 played for the Detroit Lions.
He has three interceptions, three forced fumbles, 17 passes defensed, 12 tackles for loss, 3 1/2 sacks and 11 QB hits over 57 games (50 starts).
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The Steelers were in need of a replacement for the injured and recently released Keanu Neal, who served as their strong safety last season. The Steelers have perennial All-Pro Minkah Fitzpatrick and Damontae Kazee as their top safeties but have evolved to deploy three safeties at times and prefer to keep Kazee deeper in their secondary.
Among the 104 NFL safeties who played the most snaps last season, Elliott was rated as the ninth-best against the run by Pro Football Focus’ subjective grading system. Per PFF, though, Elliott lined up more than twice as often as a free safety than “in the box” — a trend that extends throughout his career.
Aside from Fitzpatrick and Kazee and before the addition of Elliott, the only other safety on the Steelers’ roster that appeared in an NFL game last season or has appreciable pro experience on defense is Trenton Thompson.
Chris Adamski is a TribLive reporter who has covered primarily the Pittsburgh Steelers since 2014 following two seasons on the Penn State football beat. A Western Pennsylvania native, he joined the Trib in 2012 after spending a decade covering Pittsburgh sports for other outlets. He can be reached at cadamski@triblive.com.