The Steelers’ secondary gave up 360 passing yards against the Green Bay Packers in a loss on Sunday night, and it got even worse when starting strong safety DeShon Elliott left the game with a knee injury.
Now, a report from Jeremy Fowler of ESPN says the Steelers are “bracing” for Elliott to miss the rest of the season. It’s bad news made worse by backup safety Chuck Clark putting together a rough game in Elliott’s replacement against the Packers.
What should the Steelers do at safety?
The first step would be replacing Clark with Jabrill Peppers at strong safety. That’s not to say Peppers would be a massive upgrade, but he’s at least shown some chops as a downhill tackler this season.
However, Clark was the Steelers’ most-played safety against Green Bay, playing 56 of 64 possible snaps to Juan Thornhill’s 27 and Peppers’ 13 (per PFF). Thornhill didn’t have a good game either, but the fact that Clark still saw around twice the playing time doesn’t make much sense.
Playing Jalen Ramsey more at safety is also a viable option, but it takes him out of the equation at cornerback where he’s the most impactful. Pittsburgh does have better depth at corner than safety, but Darius Slay has regressed noticeably in 2024 — likely the main reason Pittsburgh had Ramsey playing the vast majority of his snaps at corner against the Packers.
The third option, of course, is to bring in outside help with the trade deadline looming. The Patriots’ Kyle Dugger was rumored to be available earlier this season, and on the free agent market recognizable names such as Justin Simmons, Marcus Williams, and Marcus Maye remain available.
A cheap contract and (if a trade) a Day 3 pick swap are the only this-year rentals that make sense if the Steelers feel like they need a band-aid at safety. But the Pittsburgh defense is clearly more than one defensive back away from getting on the right track.
If the Steelers do pursue a trade, it absolutely has to be a young player with the upside to be a long-term piece. Short-term veteran contracts are part of the problem the team finds itself in at the moment.
Ultimately, there might not be a way for Pittsburgh to fix its defensive situation this season. It might be best to just play out the rest of 2025 instead of wasting more resources on a unit that’s already the highest paid in the league.
If the Steelers lose DeShon Elliott for the season, how should they handle the safety position? Join the BTSC community and let us know in the comments!
