The Pittsburgh Steelers report to Saint Vincent College on Tuesday.
They arrive as reigning AFC North champions with a new head coach, a new defensive coordinator and potential problem in their secondary, specifically with their safeties.
Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox named it the biggest weakness on the roster. He did not hedge on why.
Knox wrote that free-agent addition Jaquan Brisker “was a liability for the Bears last season.” He pointed to an opposing passer rating of 127.6 in coverage.
That number is ugly to say the least. It is also may not be the whole story.
The Case For Jaquan Brisker
Pro Football Focus rated Brisker the 12th-best safety in the NFL last season. He started all 17 games for Chicago and finished with 93 tackles and an interception.
Then the Bears let him walk after four seasons.
Pittsburgh signed him in March for one year and $5.5 million. That is backup money for a player who has started all 52 games he has appeared in since 2022.
At least one analyst thinks the league got it wrong.
“He barely got paid,” The 33rd Team’s Steve Palazzolo said on his Check the Mic podcast.
Palazzolo called Brisker his breakout player for 2026.
Brisker is also a Pittsburgh native who went to Gateway High School. This is a homecoming, not a landing spot.
The Steelers Have A Depth Problem At Safety
Knox is right that safety is the weak link. He may have the wrong reason.
The Steelers started six different safeties in 2025. DeShon Elliott hyperextended his knee in a Week 8 loss to Green Bay and tore his hamstring on the same play. He finished with five games, 38 tackles and one interception.
“I thought my career was over,” Elliott said on Cameron Heyward’s Not Just Football podcast back in April.
Elliott is healthy now. He was also excellent in 2024, logging one interception, six pass deflection and two forced fumbles. The question was never whether he is good.
The question is whether he can survive 17 games.
Behind Elliott and Brisker sits Darnell Savage, who bounced between three teams last season, and seventh-round rookie Robert Spears-Jennings. That is the drop-off worth worrying about, and it is one bad landing away from being the starting lineup.
There is one wrinkle Knox did not spend time on.
Jalen Ramsey is listed at cornerback. However, he started making his move over to safety after Pittsburgh needed him there last season, and new defensive coordinator Patrick Graham can slide him back at any point. At age 31, it could end up becoming Ramsey’s primary position as the season progresses.
That flexibility is real. It also means pulling a Pro Bowl corner out of a group Pittsburgh just spent money to build, after adding Jamel Dean in free agency.
Robbing Peter to pay Paul is not a plan. It is a contingency.
The Steelers last season, allowing 243.9 yards per game. They overhauled the cornerback room. They spent on the back end.
Whether any of it worked comes down to two players staying upright.
Camp opens Tuesday, July 28. Week 1 against the Atlanta Falcons is September 13 in Pittsburgh at Acrisure Stadium.
Pittsburgh has about six weeks to prove Knox wrong.
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