Steelers' DeShon Elliott Likely Getting Very Frustrated With New Coaching Staff: "They Have Their Guys"

The Pittsburgh Steelers were struggling at safety depth all throughout the 2026 season. Safety DeShon Elliott suffered a setback in his recovery that took him out for the first six weeks of the season, and it took a while for Jaquan Brisker to get up to full health, as he was dealing with a nagging injury as well. They brought in Rayshawn Jenkins to help out, but he got cut quickly due to poor play. There is still a constant worry that something will happen to that position group, as defensive backs get injured often. 

Despite that worry, the Steelers are clearly happy with the safety room at this moment. They were very quiet at the 2026 trade deadline. Part of that comes from the shocking emergence of Robert Spears-Jennings, who has managed to hold on to the starting job with Elliott's return. There is no doubt that this safety room is absolutely loaded with talent, and quarterbacks never get a break with everyone moving around in the back end. 

All is not well in that area though. In an interview with Jim Wexell, Elliott spoke about how he's trying to be a team player through his lack of snaps.

"It's a new coaching regime. They brought guys in; they have their guys," Elliott said. "If they need me to play, I can play. But as of right now, I'm just getting in where I fit in and being the best team player I can be, because that's who I am. I'm a team guy, so when they want me to play, I'll play."

Despite being a key piece to the defense for a year and a half prior to his brutal injury, Elliott has only played a combined 34% of the defensive snaps in the two games he has played. There could be different factors involved for this, like trying to ease him in after missing the first six weeks and Spears-Jennings playing very well. The veteran safety seems to think it's a coaching thing, however. 

Elliott continued on, as he doesn't seem to think he's being eased back into this defense.

"I don't know. I guess that's up to them," Elliott said. "My teammates know my capabilities. People know what I can do when I'm out there playing in my natural position, and what I can do, what I can bring to this team. But until then, I'm just gonna stack days and be a good teammate and go about it that way. We're 6-2, so how much can you complain about?"

Even while Elliott speaks about not complaining and being a good teammate, it's easy to tell that he is not happy about his lack of reps in the slightest. One thing he has never been good at is hiding how he truly feels, and that's the case here. With both of his quotes, the veteran does not seem to believe that the coaching staff has a lot of faith in him and his abilities to play at a high level at strong safety regularly. 

The problem here is that it's very hard to justify benching any of the safeties to make Elliott happy. It doesn't help that Jalen Ramsey will play in the back end in obvious run-down situations, which adds another player in the journeyman's way. Sure, he won't complain right to the coaches' faces, but he is still not happy with this new regime in the slightest, and that may be the case for the whole season.

Steelers Will Need To Rely On Elliott In 2027

There is expected to be quite a bit of turnover at the safety position. Ramsey could get released to free up cap space, and Brisker is a pending free agent. That leaves Elliott and Spears-Jennings as the only two players at that position set to be on the roster in 2027. Pittsburgh may not have enough money available to make a splash there, and that's when the veteran can show the coaches how great he truly is.

What do you think about Elliott being frustrated with the coaches over his playing time? Let us know on X at @Steelers_ChrisB.

#SteelerNation