What’s the Steelers’ plan at safety?

PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA - AUGUST 13: Rayshawn Jenkins #31 of the Pittsburgh Steelers in action during the game against the Green Bay Packers at Acrisure Stadium on August 13, 2026 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images) | Getty Images

One of a handful of surprises from the Steelers on cutdown day was the team placing starting safety DeShon Elliott on injured reserve — guaranteeing he’ll miss at least the first four games of the regular season.

Talking to the media on Monday, Pittsburgh general manger Omar Khan claimed that Elliott had no setbacks recovering from his knee injury despite playing last week, saying it just the “right thing to do” after the safety wasn’t 100%.

Already seen as one of the thinnest position groups on the roster, Pittsburgh’s initial safety depth chart has just three names: Jaquan Brisker, Rayshawn Jenkins and rookie Robert Spears-Jennings.

To make things more interesting, Brisker has had a quiet summer, never playing in the preseason and missing the last several weeks of practice with an injury. He’s expected to go Week 1, but his level of readiness — and how he’ll look in general — is difficult to gauge from the outside.

But assuming Brisker is good to go against the Falcons who will start opposite him? It’s worth throwing veteran cornerback Jalen Ramsey into the mix, who filled in at safety for the secondary-needy Steelers last year. It’s apparent the team still views Ramsey as a nickel defender first and foremost, but starting him at safety to open the season might allow Pittsburgh to field its best 11 on defense with Brandin Echols also being a capable name defending the slot.

However, I’d guess the Steelers start Jenkins Week 1. The veteran started nine games in 2023 and has 92 career starts under his belt. In the preseason, his strengths had some clear similarities to Elliott, with Jenkins looking comfortable in the box and being used as a blitzer in Patrick Graham’s aggressive scheme with general success.

This stop by Rayshawn Jenkins 😮‍💨

NYJvsPIT on @nflnetwork
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— NFL (@NFL) August 21, 2026

Spears-Jennings deserves mention after a strong preseason himself, but the rookie seventh-rounder will almost certainly be starting his NFL career primarily on special teams. And with two safeties on the practice squad currently in Sebastian Castro and Juanyeh Thomas, Pittsburgh will be able to make some elevations to further bolster the depth, although it will mainly be more special teams contributors.

The secondary should be able to survive the expected four weeks without Elliott. It’s a big loss, but Jenkins can provide Elliott-esque play, and Ramsey’s versatility means he could rotate in as a safety when the team is in base defense, or if Jenkins just isn’t the right player for the situation.

That said, Pittsburgh’s defensive backfield had coverage issues in the preseason, and while it wasn’t a disaster as the team was down most of its starters, there is reason to wonder how those top players will look with little time to gel together before the regular season.

Joey Porter Jr. didn’t practice leading up to cutdown day, staying on the PUP list and waiting for a new contract. Ramsey never played in the preseason and missed time with injury, as did Brisker. And now Elliott will miss the opening stretch of the year.

There are plenty of talented names on paper, but the Steelers secondary is still a mystery headed into Week 1.

What are your thoughts on the Steelers’ safety room? Join the BTSC community and let us know in the comments!

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Golden Nuggets: We’re officially in a Football Month

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - AUGUST 27: Brock Purdy #13 of the San Francisco 49ers talks to fans before a preseason game against the Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium on August 27, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ian Maule/Getty Images) | Getty Images

49ers, with 8,000-mile trip on tap, deal with roster uncertainty for opener (paywall)
“Earlier in the offseason, after Los Angeles traded for Garrett, Lynch joked about reading an inspirational John Wooden quote that fell on deaf ears with Shanahan. The quote read: “Don’t lose sleep worrying about your competition. Let them lose sleep worrying about you,” to which Shanahan responded, “You know what? F John Wooden.”

The feeling is only exacerbated by the return of Donald. But Lynch still feels confident in his team’s prospects ahead of the Rams showdown. 

“They got better certainly with him deciding to come out of retirement,” Lynch said. “I think we’re pretty good, too.”

Kyle Shanahan, John Lynch discuss creating 49ers’ initial 2026 roster
“Who’s your starting left guard and who’s your backup running back?

KS: “Don’t know yet.”

On either one?

Nope. It’s the truth. Usually, we get all three of these practices and then by that Monday is like when we come in and usually do leadership council, captains and, ‘all right, this is who we’re rolling with.’ But, we haven’t had those three practices yet and we just added a new guy to the group too. So, it’s truly fluid.”

49ers roster moves: Safety, punter re-signed; 2 defensive players head to IR

“The 49ers announced they have re-signed safety Ashtyn Davis and punter Corliss Waitman to one-year deals. To make room on the roster, the team placed cornerback Nate Hobbs and linebacker Nick Martin on the injured reserve list.” 

49ers lose UDFA Bryson Eason to the Chiefs; 2 players the Niners should add to the practice squad
“Eason fell to a numbers game at defensive tackle. It’s an unfortunate loss. He looked the part. Was a smart player who held his own against the run. There wasn’t much to offer in the passing game, but you could argue that’s true for the majority of the defensive tackles on the 49ers roster.

I’d love to be a fly on the wall to see how much draft status played a part in this decision. Eason outplayed Alfred Collins in the preseason. You could argue he was just as good, if not better, than CJ West during the games. But those were draft picks and you’re not going to cut ties with the players you invested in the draft just a year ago…[Isiah] Foskey played edge rusher for the Bengals. He was a second-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. He had a strong preseason, recording 11 pressures. His tackling was shoddy, but Foskey showed enough as a pass rusher and was comfortable dropping into coverage, where it’s worth a waiver claim — especially for a team struggling to generate a pass rush.

Foskey has good size and length at nearly 6’5”, 264 pounds, with 34” arms. He ran a 4.58 40 and had a broad jump in the 89th percentile, so the get-off should be there. The 49ers would be banking on the second-round pedigree, Notre Dame’s all-time sack leader, and a player who plays hard. The idea is to upgrade your depth at edge rusher. Foskey allows you to get younger and more athletic.”

49ers initial roster + waivers reaction (paywall)
“I’m not shocked that Robert Jones was cut. He was bad all preseason. I’m also not shocked Cruz made it, though he was worse all preseason. With Lowe in question and Pleasants out four weeks, it makes more sense. I had Toth as making the roster, then heading to IR. I had Zakelj as a cut. They went on season-ending IR instead, which … is functionally the same (unless an injury settlement goes down).”

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