The Pittsburgh Steelers made a major secondary splash on Tuesday, acquiring safety Kyle Duggar in a trade with the New England Patriots. But in turn, the Steelers saw another one of their safeties suffer a devastating fate.
Pittsburgh has placed DeShon Elliot on injured reserve, via Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network. He will now be forced to miss at least the next four games.
The safety was carted to the locker room during the Steelers' Week 8 loss to the Green Bay Packers. His injury was clearly as serious as feared, with Elliot now facing a multi-week absence. Perhaps the safety's injury is what pushed the Steelers into giving up a sixth-rounder for Dugger.
At the same time, it was clear Pittsburgh needed some serious help in the secondary. Coming out of Week 8, the Steelers rank dead last in pass defense, allowing 273.3 yards per game. Dugger won't fix the issue on his own, but Pittsburgh is at least hopeful he'll give the secondary a spark.
As for Elliot, his 2025 season hits a roadblock after he started five games for the team. The safety made 38 tackles, two passes defended, and an interception. For all of the Steelers' struggles on defense, Elliot's 67.2 grade from Pro Football Focus placed him 25th out of 88 qualifying safeties. He has played great against the run as his 78.7 grade ranked 16th.
But now, the Steelers must watch Elliot rehab from his worrying knee injury. They'll hope he can return by the end of the season. For now, they'll need Dugger to step up as Pittsburgh tries to march towards the playoffs.
