Steelers Now
Pittsburgh Steelers strong safety DeShon Elliott will be placed on the team’s injured reserve list, according to a report by Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.
Elliott suffered a knee injury during the team’s Week 8 loss to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday night, and head coach Mike Tomlin had already ruled him out for the club’s Week 9 home game against the Indianapolis Colts.
The Steelers agreed to a trade with the New England Patriots on Tuesday night, acquiring veteran safety Kyle Dugger. Elliott will be placed on the IR to make room for Dugger on the Steelers’ 53-man active roster.
Tomlin described Elliott’s injury as a hyperextended knee. That appears to be an encouraging sign after Jeremy Fowler of ESPN reported on Monday night that the Steelers are bracing for Elliott to miss the rest of the season. Fowler noted that Elliott’s ACL is intact and he’s working through the nature of the leg injury, so Pittsburgh will hold out hope, but a return is not considered likely at this point.
The injury happened when Green Bay Packers tight end Tucker Kraft pulled in a pass from Jordan Love and moved downfield. Elliott and Juan Thornhill chased him down, but the former remained on the ground after the big gain, grabbing at his leg while laying on his side.
While giving chase to the rumbling Packers tight end, Thornhill fell into Elliott’s lower right leg, which bent awkwardly. Just about all of the Steelers’ defense kneeled down around Elliott while he was checked out by trainers, then he was helped off the field and into the blue medical tent on the sideline.
Elliott was carted off around the time the Packers ended their drive with a 9-yard Jordan Love touchdown pass to Savion Williams. He was ruled out for the remainder of the game.
Losing Elliott for the season would be a devastating blow to the defense, as he’s an emotional leader and key communicator in the secondary.
“We had other guys that (were) trying to play a lot of positions that they really haven’t had a lot of reps in practice. Because DeShon’s always out there, he’s working,” fellow Steelers safety Juan Thornhill said after their team’s 35-25 loss to the Packers. “He goes down and it’s like, ‘Oh, so what are we gonna do now?’”
The defense wasn’t doing all that well even before Elliott was rolled up on, headed to the sideline with help and was carted off. The Steelers haven’t forced a turnover since they played the Minnesota Vikings in Ireland almost a month ago, and they didn’t have a sack against Love, either.
Elliott is in his second season with the Steelers. He signed a contract extension before this season that will keep him in Pittsburgh through 2026. In 2024, Elliott appeared in 15 games, starting 14. He recorded 108 tackles, including 73 solo stops, five tackles for a loss, six passes defensed, two forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, tied for the most...
