Former Detroit Lions safety DeShon Elliott has to be one happy man right about now.
Elliott, who was a key cog in the Pittsburgh Steelers’ secondary a season ago, reportedly inked a two-year, $12.5 million extension with Mike Tomlin's team Monday. The extension includes $9.21M in guarantees, per NFL Network reporter Tom Pelissero.
The 28-year-old defensive back produced a career-best campaign in his debut season with the Steelers in 2024. He amassed a career-high 108 total tackles last season, along with six passes defensed, two forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries and a lone interception. Additionally, he permitted a passer rating of just 88.8 as the nearest defender. It was good for his best passer rating against mark since his rookie campaign in 2019.
For his efforts, he earned a 70.2 Pro Football Focus overall grade, including a career-best PFF run-defense mark (87.8) and a career-high PFF tackling grade (90.3).
After signing the extension, Elliott posted to his Instagram story, “Grateful to the Rooney family, Omar Khan and Coach Tomlin for bringing me to Pittsburgh and giving me a home. Thankful to be extended for two more years to play for the best organization and in front of the best fans in the NFL.”
The Dallas native originally inked a two-year, $6 million deal with Pittsburgh last offseason. It came after Elliott spent a lone campaign with each the Lions (2022) and the Miami Dolphins (2023) in back-to-back seasons.
Elliott, a sixth-round pick of the Baltimore Ravens in 2018, compiled 96 total tackles, including five for loss, in 14 games with Detroit in 2022. In his one season with Dan Campbell's squad, he also recorded three passes defensed, a single interception, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery, and earned a 66.5 PFF overall grade.
