The Pittsburgh Steelers have officially trimmed their roster to 53 players, and the news out of the secondary is troubling. While Joey Porter Jr. returning from PUP (though we’ll see how the contract situation plays out) is good news, safety DeShon Elliott landed on short-term injured reserve, meaning he will miss a minimum of the first four games of the 2026 regular season. For a Steelers defense already battling depth issues in the defensive backfield, the timing could not be worse.

Elliott’s absence creates a ripple effect

Elliott had just returned to action in the final preseason game against the New York Jets, where he looked sharp and reminded everyone why Pittsburgh values him. He is an enforcing, tone-setting presence and a vocal leader on that side of the ball. Losing him for at least a month strips the secondary of one of its most important communicators.

The short-term IR designation means Elliott can return after Week 4, unlike a long-term placement that would sideline him far longer. But four games is four games, and the Steelers have to figure out who fills that void alongside Jaquan Brisker.

The safety room is thin

With Elliott shelved, the Steelers’ active safety group consists of Brisker, rookie Robert Spears-Jennings, and veteran Rayshawn Jenkins. Brisker is the unquestioned starter, and Jenkins would seem like the logical second starter given his experience. The problem? Brisker has barely practiced or played this preseason and throughout training camp because of his own injury.

So the Steelers are looking at a scenario where both safeties they expected to start the season with have been compromised by health issues. Spears-Jennings showed enough to make the roster, but asking him to shoulder significant defensive responsibilities in Week 1 is a different conversation entirely.

The secondary picture gets uglier

The concerns do not stop at safety. Porter has not practiced or played all offseason before his return from PUP, and Jalen Ramsey just came off PUP himself last week. That is a lot of rust across the entire secondary. The amount of turnover, injuries, and players cycling in and out of the lineup paints a concerning picture for a unit that needs to be Pittsburgh’s strength.

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Should Omar Khan swing a trade?

The bottom line is this: the Steelers have already been active on the trade market this offseason, sending offensive tackle Broderick Jones to the Dallas Cowboys and Kaleb Johnson to the Green Bay Packers. Those were outgoing moves. The question now is whether general manager Omar Khan needs to flip the script and bring someone in.

The safety room as currently constructed can survive, but surviving and thriving are two different things. Brisker’s health is a question mark, Elliott is out until at least Week 5, and the depth behind them is a seventh-round rookie and a veteran stopgap. If there is a starting-caliber safety available on the trade market, the Steelers should be exploring it aggressively.

I believe the first four games of the season will tell us everything we need to know about whether this secondary can hold up. If Khan and the front office are confident Brisker will be healthy and Jenkins can bridge the gap, they may stand pat. But if there is any doubt about Brisker’s availability, waiting could cost Pittsburgh early-season wins that are hard to get back.

The way I see it, the Steelers cannot afford to enter Week 1 hoping their secondary figures itself out. Khan has shown a willingness to be aggressive this offseason, and now might be the time to direct that aggression toward the biggest vulnerability on the roster.