Steelers Cut Ties with Versatile Safety

In a corresponding transaction to the signing of inside linebacker Tyler Matakevich on Wednesday, the Pittsburgh Steelers released safety Jalen Elliott.

The Notre Dame alum had three stints with the Steelers over the past calendar year, but did not appear in a game last season.

Elliot was released at the end of training camp before being brought back to the practice squad on Oct. 31. He was released in late November, then returned to the practice squad in mid-December.

Elliott was brought back after the team lost starting free safety Minkah Fitzpatrick for at least this week to a knee injury and starting strong safety Damontae Kazee was suspended for the rest of the 2023 season by the NFL on Monday.

The Steelers signed Elliott to a reserve/futures contract in January.

Elliott, 25, was an undrafted free agent in the class of 2020. He found time with the Detroit Lions in 2020 and 2021 and then spent last year with the New England Patriots and Las Vegas Raiders. Elliott has 12 total tackles in his NFL career.

Elliott played in all three preseason games with the Steelers last season. Elliott earned a solid 71.3 PFF tackling grade in those games, racking up 11 tackles over the three games. However, teams went at Elliott during games, allowing 13 receptions on 13 targets for 108 receiving yards and two touchdowns over those three games.

The 25-year-old Richmond, Virginia native played in 44 games at Notre Dame while racking up six interceptions and 11 pass deflections. His junior season was his most productive with four interceptions and seven pass deflections. Over his career, he posted 176 tackles with the Fighting Irish.

Matakevich is mostly known as a special teams ace, recording 64 special teams tackles in his career. In 2019, Matakevich was the NFL co-leader in special teams tackles with 16, which was a career-high for him, with 14 of them solo stops.

It appears that the Steelers viewed Matakevich as a better special teams option, or Elliott was just the odd man out in the equation. Matakevich can be a major asset on special teams, especially with the new kickoff rule.