The Pittsburgh Steelers signed two-year player DeShon Elliott to strengthen their safety position. Even while he might not be the ideal answer, if they are unable to get another upgrade this summer, he might be a good starting option.
At the NFL owner’s meetings on Sunday, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin spoke with a small group of Pittsburgh reporters about what made Elliott a desirable free agent signing.
Again, we have familiarity with DeShon and just got a lot of respect for how he plays the game, the toughness component,” Tomlin said. “We felt like he would be a good asset in addition to our secondary. Good tackler, good communicator. There’s a lot that’s attractive about him and we’re excited to get to work with him.
Like newly acquired linebacker Patrick Queen, Elliott is also a former Raven, playing in Baltimore from 2018-2021. During a one-on-one interview with Missi Matthews of Steelers.com, Elliott revealed that Queen recruited him to sign with the Steelers.
“He was like, do you wanna become a Steeler? I was like, what do you mean? He goes, I was talking to the GM, do you wanna become a Steeler? I was like freak yeah bro, hell yeah, I’ll come play with you; what are you talking about? And so the next day, made it happen,” Elliott said.
Elliott played more at free safety than strong safety a year ago in Miami, logging over 500 snaps at free safety but over 200 snaps at strong safety. In addition, Elliott played 97 snaps in the slot. This should allow for some continuity to be built across the safety corps, as Elliott seems likely to be paired with Minkah Fitzpatrick on the back end of the defense and can allow Fitzpatrick to work at free safety as well as strong safety
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