The Pittsburgh Steelers have a number of needs on the defensive side of the football. One of those needs was addressed with the signing of inside linebacker Patrick Queen, but other needs remained. Most of those needs were found in the secondary, mainly at the safety position.

Thursday it was reported by Jordan Schultz of the Schultz Report the Steelers are signing safety DeShon Elliott to a 2-year contract worth $6 million dollars.

Breaking: Free agent safety DeShon Elliott is signing with the #Steelers for 2 years $6M, source tells @BleacherReport.

— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) March 14, 2024

The signing certainly fills the need in the secondary, but many will wonder why Elliott, and not any number of safeties out on the open market weren’t considered a better fit for the black-and-gold. That will be debated, but here is what you need to know about Elliott’s history in the NFL:

• 2018 6th round pick of the Baltimore Ravens
• Played three seasons in Baltimore, one in Detroit, and last year in Miami.
• Started all 15 games he appeared in last season
• Has 50 starts in 57 games
• Three career interceptions, 17 passes defended, 287 tackles, and 3.5 sacks (all sacks with BAL)
• Played 58% of the snaps at free safety last year, but only 41% the previous year in Detroit. Can be used in a variety of ways as a safety.

If there are any questions surrounding Elliott, it would be his durability and sordid injury history.

• Spent all of his rookie season 2018 and 2019 on Injured Reserve. His rookie year he fractured his forearm and missed the rest of 2019 when he was placed on IR in October with a knee injury.
• After he started every game in 2020, he missed 11 games in 2021 on IR with a torn bicep/pec.

For those who care about Pro Football Focus (PFF) grades, here is how Elliott graded out in 2023:

DeShon Elliott: 72.7 PFF Grade since 2020 (33rd among all Safeties) 👊 pic.twitter.com/B5yLzMWHif

— PFF PIT Steelers (@PFF_Steelers) March 14, 2024

With the news just breaking, be sure to stay tuned to SCN for the latest news and notes surrounding the Steelers not only on how Elliott fits with the Steelers, but also as more moves are made to hopefully turn the Steelers roster into a championship contender in 2024.