Steelers Now
It’s always a good story when a Pittsburgh guy signs with the Steelers.
But Jaquan Brisker is expected to be more than just feel-good headlines.
Brisker grew up in Pittsburgh, and after his career at Gateway High School in Monroeville ended, he stayed in PA, first spending his first two seasons at Lackawanna Community College before transferring to Penn State.
He became an All-American at PSU, then went in the second round (48th overall) of the 2022 draft to the Chicago Bears.
Over four seasons with the Bears, Brisker became a regular starter. But with his rookie contract up, Brisker wanted a chance at scenery, and picked his hometown.
“It’s going to be amazing,” Brisker told Steelers.com in March. “I love the fans. I love Terrible Towels. I love how passionate they are for the players, how they love Pittsburgh football just overall. And Renegade, the song you guys play. I love that. So, I can’t wait to turn the fans up.”
Acquired: The Steelers signed Brisker to a one-year, $5.5 million deal over the offseason. He joined Penn Staters Joey Porter Jr., Pat Freiermuth and Daequan Hardy, who were already on the roster, and the Steelers later drafted former Penn State QB Drew Allar in the third round.
Last year: Brisker started all 17 games for the first time last season, ending with 93 tackles (52 solo), a sack, an interception and eight pass breakups. After missing 12 games with a vestibular concussion in 2024, Brisker led the Chicago Bears defense by playing 99.91% of defensive snaps. Pro Football Focus gave him a 60.4 overall defensive grade, which ranked 67th of 98 qualified safeties.
He had a better run defense grade of 73.7, which was 34th best at the position, and gave up a 118.1 passer rating when targeted (91.4 is the league average), per Pro Football Reference).
Pro career: Brisker was a contributor for the Bears right away, starting 15 games as a rookie in 2022, missing the other two while in concussion protocol. His 104 tackles ranked third among rookies, and his four sacks led the Bears and tied for the most of any DB. Brisker also ended with five tackles for loss, an interception, two pass breakups, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. In 12 of Brisker’s 15 starts, he played every snap, the most of any Bears defender.
The next season, Brisker also played in 15 games, missing two in concussion protocol. He led the Bears with 105 tackles, also ending the year with a sack, an interception, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. Brisker also defended nine passes, which led the Bears.
He didn’t get a fair chance to build in 2024, missing all but five games due to injury.
Brisker started his college career at Lackawanna Community College, where he played the...
