Status Of Steelers' Fan Favorite Has New Update Following 2025 Season-Ending Injury

Training camp is underway for the Pittsburgh Steelers as they try to move forward with a whole new staff. While some players are finally practicing for the first time since the 2025 season, others are already dealing with issues that could affect the defense. Unlike the previous coaching staff, Head Coach Mike McCarthy has announced his decision to not utilize tackling during padded practices, which will hopefully result in fewer injuries. Either way, Pittsburgh has had more injuries than normal recently, which needs to stop now if it wants to enter the season healthy.

One player has not been able to practice much during the offseason program due to injuries. At Day 1 of training camp, Christopher Carter gave an update after watching safety DeShon Elliott work out on the field for the first time since suffering an injury in the middle of the 2025 regular season.

The fact that Elliott isn't on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list like his teammates at cornerback is a great sign on its own, and his ability to move well looks great too. At this point, it would be expected that the Steelers take things slow and easy with him to make sure that he doesn't aggravate anything. So far, things are looking up for the veteran safety.

While playing against the Green Bay Packers in the middle of 2025, Elliott suffered a hyperextended knee, but the severity was not known at time. He later revealed that he needed surgery to attach his hamstring back to his bone, which was very scary. That cost him the rest of the season, as well as all the different minicamps in 2026. It must feel great for him to be back on the field. 

The fact that Elliott was able to move around like he was able to to begin training camp is a great sign. These smooth movements on the field indicate that his hamstring is mostly healed up, and he should be back to running team drills with the first-team defense in no time. As long as he progresses well and doesn't suffer a setback, the fan favorite should be ready to go for Week 1.

Steelers Need Elliott To Provide Some Stable Safety Depth

The Steelers loaded up in defensive backs in the 2026 offseason, but it never feels like it's enough depth. Injuries to Elliott and Jalen Ramsey only exasperate that belief as both are not able to do team drills yet with the latter being placed on the PUP list to begin training camp. Both players are expected to be back, but with how injury-prone the position is, they may need more help throughout the 2026 campaign.

The talent at safety position can't be questioned. There's Ramsey, Elliott, Jaquan Brisker, and Darnell Savage making the Top 4 in this group. On paper, having those four on the same team at the same position makes it look absolutely stacked, but once again, injuries are a concern. The first two are currently recovering while Savage has unfortunately dealt with his own issues over the last few years.

There are some quality veteran free agents available to sign if worse comes to worst, but there is still a lot to learn with a brand-new coaching staff, including a new defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach. There's also the idea that Ramsey should be a positionless player, but his injury makes it hard to practice that idea when he's not on the field. Elliott needs to come back to help with all these problems.

What do you think about Elliott's update following his injury in 2025? Let us know on X at @Steelers_ChrisB.

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