New Steelers Safety DeShon Elliott Makes Revealing Statement About How He Knew Pittsburgh Was A Perfect Fit

The Pittsburgh Steelers love their players to have personality and newly acquired safety DeShon Elliott seems to have that in spades. It is common to be excited about what new players have to say at their introductory press conferences, but it is less common to hear someone and think, "That's a Steeler." It happened last year with Nate Herbig and this year it is happening with Elliott. 

When meeting the press for the first time as a Steeler at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex, the 26-year-old seemed comfortable walking out to the podium. He immediately made a joke, asking everyone to wish Head Coach Mike Tomlin a happy 32nd birthday (Coach is really 52). He was quick-witted, confident, and spoke with enthusiasm about getting involved in this smothering Pittsburgh defense. 

Elliott was drafted in the sixth round in 2018 by the Baltimore Ravens and went from there to the Detroit Lions and the Miami Dolphins. When asked what pitch Pittsburgh used that made him want to sign here, he didn't hesitate.  

"The logo," answered Elliott quickly. "This is championship football. This is a culture. This is real smashmouth, real gritty, cold weather game football. Why would you not want to play here? Growing up watching Troy Polamalu play, the Steel Curtain, this is real football, I'm excited to be here."

It isn't surprising to hear that Elliott was wowed by Troy Polamalu. The legendary safety spent 12 years playing for the Steelers and ultimately worked his way into the NFL Hall of Fame. A whole generation of players, particularly safeties, were shaped by watching Polamalu, hair flying, come from nowhere to make a tackle.        

Elliott was brought to Pittsburgh on a two-year roughly $6 million deal. During the 2023 season in Miami, he had a career-high 7 pass breakups and an interception. It makes sense; the Steelers needed depth at safety, allowing Elliott to help Damontae Kazee and Minkah Fitzpatrick. 

Steelers General Manager Omar Khan has been surprising fans this offseason by how aggressively he has been shoring up the defense. The stand-out from Texas spent two years in Baltimore playing with another new Steelers defender, Patrick Queen.

Steelers' Newest Safety Will Let Minkah Fitzpatrick Cook Again

The Steelers' defense struggled in 2023, with injuries to nearly every inside linebacker they put on the field and trouble at cornerback. It was hard for superstar Fitzpatrick to do what he has always done: be a playmaker. While Elliott isn't going to be Fitzpatrick 2.0, he is going to bring much-needed depth to an extremely thin group. 

Elliott is more of a traditional strong safety, who had 266 snaps in the box in 2023 and 279 in 2022. This addition will let Fitzpatrick get back to playing his more centerfield, free safety role. Fitzpatrick, who has been selected for four Pro Bowls, including one in 2023, and is a three-time First Team All-Pro, did not have a single interception in 2023 after having a whopping six in 2022.  

The Steelers likely saw Elliott as a complement to Fitzpatrick and Kazee. In addition, acquiring a safety became even more important when the team recently released Keanu Neal after he failed his physical. It is still likely the Steelers will target a safety in the draft, but it will not need to be their top priority.