The Pittsburgh Steelers are making another move to improve depth, signing former Cleveland Browns S Juan Thornhill. NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo was the first to report the news, keeping Thornhill in the AFC North.
Per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, it’s a one-year deal. The amount hasn’t yet been disclosed.
An athletic and well-built safety out of Virginia, Thornhill was drafted in the second round by the Kansas City Chiefs in 2019. He spent four years there, making 52 starts and recording eight interceptions.
Cashing in with a $21 million deal with the Cleveland Browns ahead of 2023, Thornhill’s play was disappointing. He lasted just two years into the contract, injury limiting him to 11 games in the 2023 and 2024 seasons. His playmaking declined, failing to intercept a pass either year, but he recorded 103 tackles with the Browns. A lowlight came from this past season. Thornhill showed lackluster effort in chasing down this long touchdown against the New Orleans Saints.
After the game, Thornhill admitted he loafed.
“They were saying I need to give more effort on that play, and I know it, they know it, everybody knows that I need to give more effort, so it’s nothing I can hide from,” he said via Browns Zone’s Scott Petrak. “It’s obvious I didn’t try as hard as I possibly could, and it just won’t happen no more.”
Turning 30 in October, Juan Thornhill has appeared in 87 games with 74 starts. He had 337 career tackles with eight interceptions, one forced fumble, and one sack.
Pittsburgh knows him well from his past two years with Cleveland, keeping him in the division. In his two 2024 games against the Steelers, Thornhill combined for ten tackles. He played in just one game versus Pittsburgh in 2023, notching four tackles in a Week 2 loss.
Coming out of Virginia, Thornhill posted superior testing. Weighing in at 6002, 205 pounds, he ran a 4.42 40 at the Combine and jumped out of the building, a 44-inch vertical paired with an 11’9” broad jump. Our scouting report spoke highly of his tools.
A Pittsburgh defense offering little behind starters, Minkah Fitzpatrick and DeShon Elliott, had a big need for safety depth. Before Thornhill, the team rostered special teams ace Miles Killebrew, second-year Ryan Watts (injured in his rookie year with a severe neck injury), and offseason signing Josh Bledsoe, who has just 22 career defensive snaps.
Thornhill should slide into the No. 3 role and be first-man-up if Fitzpatrick or Elliott miss time in 2025.
