The Pittsburgh Steelers signed former AFC North rival Patrick Queen away from the Baltimore Ravens this offseason, but the team also signed another former Ravens defender in S DeShon Elliott. Elliott spent 2023 with the Miami Dolphins, but he was drafted by the Ravens and was with the team from 2019-2021. The Steelers will pair Elliott with Minkah Fitzpatrick at safety, and Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette believes that the Steelers hope he can be a “long-term” partner at safety next to Fitzpatrick.
“The other safety spot, they went out and got DeShon Elliott. He was with the Dolphins last year. He’s been with the Ravens, so there’s a little bit of pedigree there. He’s got a bunch of starts on his resume, so I think he’ll be ok. They’ve been trying to find a long-term partner for Minkah for a long time, and they just haven’t been able to find one. Terrell Edmunds was here for a while. Last year they had a couple of different guys who are no longer here. I think they want to get that straightened away,” Fittipaldo said on The Rothman And Ice Show on 97.1 The Fan. “I think Elliott’s only 26, 27, so they’re hoping that he can be that guy over the long term.”
The Steelers signed the 27-year-old Elliott to a two-year deal in March after a strong season in Miami. While the team still has Damontae Kazee and Trenton Thompson on the roster at safety, Eric Rowe and Keanu Neal are gone. Elliott is likely to start, and while the Steelers could rotate three safeties a little bit, Kazee wasn’t super impressive last season, and it’s clear that the team wanted an upgrade at the position.
Last year, safety was one of the areas where Pittsburgh’s depth was tested. Fitzpatrick and Neal missed time with injuries, and Kazee got suspended, which is where guys like Rowe and Thompson stepped up for the Steelers. Neither is a viable long-term solution, though, and Rowe isn’t on the team anymore. Thompson is fine depth as someone who was thrown into the fire last season, but Elliott is a clear upgrade and someone the Steelers seem to like long-term.
He’s had success in the league and has a lot of experience, with 57 games and 50 starts to his name. While injury problems cut short his time in Baltimore, he’s played 29 games with 28 starts over the past two seasons. In that timeframe, he’s also had 126 total tackles and 10 passes defensed, and he was one of the better players in Miami’s secondary last season.
He certainly has the potential to be a long-term solution next to Fitzpatrick, who’s still one of the premier safeties in the NFL. It’ll be interesting to see how the two click together throughout the offseason.
