The Steelers are going back to a player they already know well, bringing linebacker Elandon Roberts back to Pittsburgh on a one-year deal, according to a source who spoke to ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Wednesday.
Roberts gives the Steelers a familiar, physical presence in the middle of the defense. He spent the 2023 and 2024 seasons in Pittsburgh before moving on to the Las Vegas Raiders in 2025, and now he returns at age 32 with a track record the Steelers have already seen up close.
Last season in Las Vegas, Roberts started 16 of 17 games and settled in as a steady veteran voice on the Raiders’ defense. He finished with 90 tackles and 16 run stuffs, showing the kind of downhill style that has long defined his game.
That profile fits what Pittsburgh has valued from him before. In his first season with the Steelers in 2023, Roberts piled up 101 tackles and helped anchor the middle of the defense with a hard-nosed approach. His workload dipped the next year, but he still managed 46 tackles, including five for loss, one sack and a forced fumble while playing 44% of Pittsburgh’s defensive snaps.
The reunion also adds another experienced linebacker to a group that now has a player already comfortable with the Steelers’ expectations and defensive demands. Roberts’ ability to attack the line of scrimmage and hold up against the run stands out as Pittsburgh continues its buildup toward the 2026 season.
Roberts entered the league as a sixth-round pick by the New England Patriots in the 2016 NFL draft. He spent four seasons in New England, then three with the Miami Dolphins before landing in Pittsburgh.
Over 10 NFL seasons, Roberts has played in 157 games with 121 starts and produced 694 tackles, 14.5 sacks and five forced fumbles.
This is less about teaching a new player the system and more about plugging in someone the Steelers already trust. They know Roberts, and they know the kind of physicality he brings.
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