The Steelers are opening the 2026 season with one notable absence, but the bigger injury picture around the roster is starting to clear.
Safety DeShon Elliott will miss the first four weeks while he works back from the knee injury he suffered last year. General manager Omar Khan said the team gave Elliott a run against the New York Jets and saw enough soreness afterward to decide not to rush him.
“With Deshon, he had a significant injury last year. And it’s been less than a year.
So we just say, hey, let’s be smart about it. He hasn’t, there’s been nothing to tell us that things have regressed or there was any type of setback.
But he played in the Jets preseason game. And we’re able to see how he came out of that and just felt like the right thing to do is to be smart and have him ready to go,” Khan said.
Outside of Elliott, Pittsburgh expects to get back a long list of injured players. That group includes safety Jaquan Brisker, defensive lineman Sebastian Joseph-Day, linebacker Payton Wilson, and wide receivers Michael Pittman Jr. and DK Metcalf, all of whom have missed major time this summer.
Quarterback Will Howard and wide receiver Ben Skowronek are still in the concussion protocol after their injuries in Buffalo, though both are expected to clear before Week 1. Rookie fullback Riley Nowakowski is also dealing with an ankle injury, but he is expected to play.
The way things stand, the Steelers should have everyone on the active roster available for the opener unless another injury pops up before then.
In Other News...
Steelers Secondary Suddenly Has A Problem Before Week 1
The Steelers secondary took a hit just days before Week 1, with DeShon Elliott landing on injured reserve and set to miss at least the first four games. Elliott had battled back from a significant leg injury last season and was back on the practice field during training camp, but his latest setback leaves Pittsburgh without one of the key pieces it hoped would stabilize the back end early in the year.
Now the burden shifts to a reshuffled group that has to hold up immediately, with Jaquan Brisker, Jalen Ramsey, Robert Spears-Jennings and Rayshawn Jenkins among the names expected to absorb the snaps. For a defense built around keeping pressure on opposing passing games, losing that kind of experience this soon creates an early test the Steelers were trying to avoid. [Read more 🡒]
Steelers Secondary Suddenly Has A Problem Early This Season
The Steelers secondary took an early hit before the 2026 season even got going, with starting safety DeShon Elliott landing on injured reserve with a designation to return. The move means Elliott must sit out the first four games while he works back from knee and hamstring injuries, another reminder that a defense built on stability can get tested quickly when one of its safeties is suddenly unavailable.
Mike McCarthy said Elliott has made progress, but the soreness he felt after a preseason game was enough to push the team toward caution. Pittsburgh now has three other safeties on the roster to lean on in the meantime, and Elliott is not expected to be eligible to return until Oct. 11 against the Indianapolis Colts, giving the Steelers at least a short-term depth problem to sort out on the back end. [Read more 🡒]
Steelers Final Running Back Decision Just Got A Lot Tougher
The Steelers had some late backfield sorting to do before the NFL deadline, and one of the more notable decisions came at running back. Lew Nichols had put together a strong preseason, yet Pittsburgh still moved on from him as part of the final 53-man roster cuts, a reminder that camp production does not always translate into a spot once the numbers get tight. The team also dealt Kaleb Johnson to the Green Bay Packers before the cutdown, further reshaping the room.
Eli Heidenreich emerged as the rookie who stayed, earning the third running back job and giving Pittsburgh a younger piece to carry into the season. Even after the roster is official, the position still feels unsettled in a way the Steelers will have to manage, especially after a summer in which Nichols looked like he had forced his way into the conversation. [Read more 🡒]