In a surprising move, the Pittsburgh Steelers released veteran inside linebacker Elandon Roberts on Sunday while making the team’s final roster cuts ahead of the 2026 season. Only a couple weeks after signing back with the Steelers after spending the 2025 season with the Raiders, Roberts was gone again.
But while trying to make sense of the decision, some instantly wondered if it was just temporary and Roberts may Boomerang back to the Steelers. Teams sometimes waive an experienced player before a cut down deadline in order to make room for others, knowing he won’t need to clear waivers and planning to resign him again. However, that’s not what happened with Roberts, according to a Steelers legend.
James Harrison, who actually briefly played with Roberts on the 2017 Patriots, took it upon himself to burst the bubble of any Steelers fan hoping to still see Roberts wear the black and gold at some point during the 2026 season.
“Don’t count on it!,” Harrison said on X (formerly Twitter) as his response to Pittsburgh media icon Bob Pompeani hinting at the Roberts release maybe being more procedural.
Harrison then elaborated further. “UNLESS we get ran on by Atlanta and then it would probably be a few weeks after before something would be done,” he added.
It’s also hard to not view Roberts as someone was going to be a productive asset to the defense. He’s coming off a season in which he recorded 90 total tackles with six tackles for a loss and a pass deflection for Las Vegas. And he was already familiar with the Steelers, granted under the old Mike Tomlin regime.
With Pittsburgh, Roberts, 32, posted 101 tackles in 2023, falling just seven shy of setting a new single-season career-high. He even had 2.5 sacks as well. But his numbers did dip in 2024, as he only registered 46 tackles, one sack and five tackles for a loss in his last campaign for the Steelers in 2024.
In 157 NFL games and 121 starts across 10 season, Roberts, a sixth round pick by the Patriots in 2016, has 694 tackles, 14.5 sacks, 60 tackles for a loss, 13 pass deflections, 13 forced fumbles and an interception from time logged with New England, the Dolphins, Steelers and Raiders. Roberts was a member of two Super Bowl winning teams with the Patriots – Super Bowl LI and LIII.
Steelers Legend Doesn’t Hold Back About Possible Elandon Roberts Return