Eligible to be activated two weeks ago, veteran safety DeShon Elliott still needed more time to ramp up for a return from the combination of a hamstring and knee injury that forced him to open the season on injured reserve. However, now two weeks later and without any recent setbacks, it appears Elliott is on track to play this weekend.
DeShon Elliott Could Play on Sunday in France
With the team in Paris, France and part of practice on Thursday, several reporters, including by Mark Kaboly, suggest the Steelers are planning to have Elliott on the field on Sunday morning when they take on the New Orleans Saints.
Out with a severe hamstring tear and hyperextended knee, the Steelers placed Elliott on injured reserve at the start of the season, forcing him to at least miss the team’s first four games, and he’s now missed two more since.
Steelers Need All the Secondary Help They Can Get
Overall, the Steelers’ defense has been up and down this season. And while it has improved to the top half of the league in unit rankings for yards allowed per game (307.5) and passing yards (204.3) per game, the addition of Elliott would help solidify a group that will still solid quarterback play the rest of the season.
A sixth-round pick of the rival Baltimore Ravens in 2018, Elliott, now 29, a consensus All-American out of the University of Texas, has recorded 433 tackles, forced six fumbles and recovered five in 77 games and 69 starts across seven healthy seasons out of his eight years in the league. He spent a season each with the Detroit Lions and Miami Dolphins before joining the Steelers in 2024. Elliott made a career-high 108 combined tackle in his first season in Pittsburgh in 2024, but was only able to register 38 in five games last year.
The Steelers and Saints will kickoff at 9:30 a.m. ET from Paris, France, with the game airing on NFL Network for fans who didn’t make the trip.
Veteran Steelers Safety on Track to Be Activated for Sunday in Paris