The Pittsburgh Steelers will open the 2026 season without one of their starting safeties after placing DeShon Elliott on injured reserve with a designation to return.
That move means Elliott must sit out the first four games of the season. His knee and hamstring injury ended his year against the Green Bay Packers, and he now won’t be eligible to come back until the Indianapolis Colts game on October 11.
Elliott’s status had already been trending the wrong way after he played against the New York Jets in the second preseason game and then sat out the next two days of practice. Head coach Mike McCarthy said Elliott was dealing with soreness, but the issue appears to have been more than that.
“I’ll tell you what, it’s great to see him out there. I mean, we all, you know, know what a big injury that was.
You know, it’s making progress. He won’t practice today.
You know, he’s feeling a little bit from the from the game. So, I thought he did some good things and he needed that,” McCarthy said.
The Steelers are thin at safety already. They have three true safeties on the roster in Jaquan Brisker, Rayshawn Jenkins, and Robert Spears-Jennings. Brisker has missed most of the last four weeks with an injury he suffered in training camp.
Jalen Ramsey is another option at the position, but Pittsburgh has listed him as its starting nickel cornerback heading into the season.
With Elliott sidelined, the Steelers may have to explore the waiver wire for help at safety, especially if they want more depth before he’s able to return.
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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 🡒]
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For now, though, Porter remains unsigned while the cornerback market keeps moving around him, and Pittsburgh is in no rush to change its approach. The club still holds plenty of leverage in the talks, including the option to use the franchise tag next offseason, which gives the Steelers time even if the sides do not find common ground anytime soon. [Read more 🡒]