Aaron Donald’s latest message to Jaquan Brisker wasn’t complicated, but it carried real weight.
During a recent workout and conversation on the 2Tenths Speed & Agility podcast, the former Rams star passed along the kind of advice that comes from years of surviving the grind at the highest level: stay on top of your body.
"Keep grinding, but make sure you're taking care of your body though," Donald warned. "That's the most important thing. It's a long season, a lot of football."
For the Steelers, that message lands right in the middle of a key offseason storyline. Pittsburgh brought in Brisker on a one-year, $5 million deal, betting on the former Penn State standout to give the defense a boost on the back end.
Brisker spent four seasons as a starter with the Chicago Bears, but his 2024 campaign was cut short after just five games. When healthy, though, he has shown he can be a difference-maker.
In 2025, he finished with 93 tackles, eight pass breakups and one interception across 17 games.
That makes Donald’s warning especially relevant. Brisker is expected to be a major piece for a Steelers defense that also has to monitor the health of DeShon Elliott. The other starting safety is working his way back from a lower-body injury that ended his 2025 season, and while he is on track to return fully in 2026, his availability remains a major question entering the year.
The Steelers need that safety pairing to hold up if Patrick Graham’s defense is going to take the step the team wants. Pittsburgh struggled badly against the pass in 2025, finishing 29th in passing yards allowed per game. The safety play was a big reason why, with too many explosive gains slipping through the cracks.
Brisker and Elliott give Graham the kind of profile he wants: physical safeties who can help against the run, cover athletic tight ends and slot receivers, and still be trusted to finish plays in space. If both stay on the field and deliver, Pittsburgh’s secondary could look a lot different in 2026 - and the defense as a whole has a real chance to climb into the top 10.
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The latest seat replacement phase covers the lower level on the east end of the stadium, and the full project is expected to wrap with a third and final phase in 2027. Precision Turf has already installed a new playing surface made of Tahoma 31 Bluegrass, replacing the previous Kentucky bluegrass field, so the Steelers are finally seeing action on both the stands and the field after a stretch of complaints about how the venue looked and played. [Read more 🡒]
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A new Steelers subplot surfaced this week when a video showed Aaron Donald working with Jaquan Brisker on pass-rush techniques. For Pittsburgh, it is the kind of offseason clip that instantly gets attention, especially with Brisker now in the building after signing a one-year deal following three seasons with the Bears.
Brisker gives the Steelers another physical, versatile piece in the secondary, and any extra work from a player with Donalds reputation only adds to the intrigue around his arrival. The bigger question hanging over the moment is what, if anything, it says about Donalds future, even as he has not said he plans to make a comeback. [Read more 🡒]
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There is still plenty for Allar to absorb, but the early signs are encouraging for a team that is always looking for stability behind center. He also sounds eager to learn from Aaron Rodgers, a veteran whose own background in a similar system could make the pairing especially useful as Allar tries to get up to speed and carve out his place in the Steelers quarterback room. [Read more 🡒]