PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin ruled out strong safety DeShon Elliott (knee) for Sunday's game against the Indianapolis Colts .
Tomlin described Elliott's injury as a hyperextended knee. That appears to be an encouraging sign after Jeremy Fowler of ESPN reported on Monday night that the Steelers are bracing for Elliott to miss the rest of the season .
Fowler notes that Elliott's ACL is intact and he's working through the nature of the leg injury, so Pittsburgh will hold out hope, but a return is not considered likely at this point.
Tomlin said Elliott is "week to week" and says they haven't had discussions to decide if he'll go on injured reserve.
Pittsburgh Steelers safety DeShon Elliott tackles Cincinnati Bengals tight end Mike Gesicki on Dec. 1, 2024. — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now
After Green Bay Packers tight end Tucker Kraft pulled in a pass from Jordan Love and moved downfield, Elliott and Juan Thornhill chased him down, but the former remained on the ground after the big gain, grabbing at his leg while laying on his side.
While giving chase to the rumbling Packers tight end, Thornhill fell into Elliott's lower right leg , which bent awkwardly. Just about all of the Steelers' defense kneeled down around Elliott while he was checked out by trainers, then he was helped off the field and into the blue medical tent on the sideline.
Elliott was carted off around the time the Packers ended their drive with a 9-yard Jordan Love touchdown pass to Savion Williams . He was ruled out for the remainder of the game.
Losing Elliott for the season would be a devastating blow to the defense, as he's an emotional leader and key communicator in the secondary.
"We had other guys that (were) trying to play a lot of positions that they really haven't had a lot of reps in practice. Because DeShon's always out there, he's working," fellow Steelers safety Juan Thornhill said after their team's 35-25 loss to the Packers. "He goes down and it's like, 'Oh, so what are we gonna do now?'"
The defense wasn't doing all that well even before Elliott was rolled up on, headed to the sideline with help and was carted off. The Steelers haven't forced a turnover since they played the Minnesota Vikings in Ireland almost a month ago, and they didn't have a sack against Jordan Love, either.
Jumping into a handful of roles with limited practice reps isn't an easy thing for his understudies to do.
"It's tough," said Jabrill Peppers , who was brought in as reinforcement after Elliott injured his knee in Week 1. "Definitely not what I'm used to, but, in this profession, you've gotta be ready when your number's called."
Elliott is set to become an unrestricted free agent this offseason.
In 2024, Elliott appeared in 15 games, starting 14 . He recorded 108 tackles, including 73 solo stops, five tackles for a loss, six passes defensed, two forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, tied for the most in the NFL, and an interception.
Alan Saunders provided reporting from Pittsburgh.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now : Steelers Rule Out Key Defensive Player vs. Colts
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