Month: September 2025

Steelers To Sign S Jabrill Peppers

Fresh off a Week 1 win against the Jets, the Steelers are signing veteran safety Jabrill Peppers, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo.

Starters DeShon Elliott (knee) and Joey Porter Jr. (hamstring) both left Sunday’s game, further depleting Pittsburgh’s already-thin secondary. The Steelers elected to carry just eight defensive backs on their initial 53-man roster – four cornerbacks and four safeties – leaving them especially vulnerable to injuries. Elliott has been diagnosed with an MCL sprain and is expected to miss a few weeks, according to FOX Sports’ Jordan Schultz.

Enter Peppers, an eight-year veteran with 85 starts under his belt (though only 31 have come in the last five years). The Patriots released him during final roster cuts as they transitioned to more traditional deep safeties, but Peppers’ downhill play style and box/slot versatility could allow him to step into Elliott’s role right away. (On Sunday, the Steelers inserted former Raven and Jet Chuck Clark when Elliott went down.)

Elliott’s injury does not appear to be long-term, but even when he returns, Peppers will be important depth after the Steelers traded Minkah Fitzpatrick back to the Dolphins earlier this year. Other than starting free safety Juan Thornhill, the only other safety on the Steelers’ roster is special teams ace Miles Killebrew, who has only played 177 defensive snaps over his previous four years in Pittsburgh.

It doesn’t seem like Elliott will land on IR with the Steelers targeting a Week 4 return, per Schultz. If Peppers is being added to the 53-man roster – which seems more likely than the practice squad given his pedigree – Pittsburgh will need to make another roster move to open up a spot.

Steelers Add Incentives To Cameron Heyward’s Deal

A last-minute resolution has emerged in the case of Cameron Heyward and the Steelers. The All-Pro defensive lineman has agreed to a restructure.

Specifically, the Steelers and Heyward worked out a compromise through incentives covering the 2025 season. Additional potential earnings have been added for the coming campaign, as first reported by Ian Rapoport, Mike Garafolo and Tom Pelissero of NFL Network. Incentives worth $3.2MM tied to playoff games and wins are now in place.

Heyward was originally owed $14.25MM in total for the 2025 campaign. As a result of today’s agreement, he can top out at $18MM this year. The 15th-year veteran made it known this summer he was seeking a raise in the wake of a strong showing last season, and he suggested a regular season holdout could take place in the absence of a deal. Yesterday’s comments on the matter implied Heyward would face the choice of missing Sunday’s contest or playing on his existing pact, but that will no longer be the case.

The Steelers have a policy against negotiating extensions during the season and have historically avoided redoing deals with more than one year remaining. Heyward is on the books through 2026 as a result of last year’s extension, something which led to the expectation no agreement would be reached. The team has nevertheless managed to work out a short-term compromise which could see his compensation move closer to the top of the defensive tackle market.

Negotiations on a new contract last offseason proved to be a lengthy process, and ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler confirms Heyward was giving serious thought to sitting out tomorrow’s game without a restructure of some kind being worked out. The seven-time Pro Bowler is now assured to be in place against the Jets in Week 1. Another highly productive season would help a Steelers defense which faces increased expectations based on the team’s busy offseason.

Heyward was limited to 11 games and just two sacks in 2023. He rebounded last year, though, playing every game and notching eight sacks. Those figures helped lead to the fourth first-team All-Pro nod of his career and increased his leverage in seeking a short-term bump in compensation. Even if Heyward reaches his $18MM ceiling in earnings for 2025, that will fall short of what 16 other defensive tackles average per year based on their current contracts.

Of course, at the age of 36, Heyward was not in a position to approach the top of the position’s market on a restructure or an agreement adding new years to his pact. The path to a marginal raise is now in place, however, and attention for team and player will turn to the regular season.

Steelers’ Cameron Heyward Unsure If New Contract Agreement Will Be Reached

Cameron Heyward continues to seek out an adjusted contract before the start of the regular season. With time running out for an agreement to be reached, it does not appear as though a deal will be struck.

Heyward made it known this summer he was aiming for a raise after signing an extension last summer. The 36-year-old left the door open to missing regular season games in the even no restructure was worked out, but it remains to be seen if that will take place. Heyward is still attached to his existing pact as things stand, and on Friday he said (via ESPN’s Brooke Pryor) he is “preparing” to play this week even if no financial changes take place.

“I wish I could be more optimistic,” added Heyward, per Pryor. “Just trying to stay in the moment. I don’t have all the answers. It’s more of me just waiting and see what could happen.”

Though Heyward signed a two-year extension last September with the intention of outplaying the deal and negotiating a raise this year, the Steelers never seemed likely to oblige. They typically avoid engaging in contract talks during the season and rarely extend players with multiple years left on their deal. Though Heyward is still playing at a high level, he is under contract through 2026, per OverTheCap, his age-37 season. Another contract would cost the Steelers more money, both upfront and in guarantees, for years that Heyward may not even play. From a business perspective, it’s difficult to argue with their decision to hold him to his last deal.

Heyward was a full participant in the Steelers’ practice on Friday with no injury designation, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, meaning an absence on Sunday would clearly be a personal, contract-related decision. Would the longtime Steeler take that drastic step? He’s started every game when healthy since Week 6 of 2013 and has a reputation as the hard-nosed leader of Pittsburgh’s defense. Furthermore, holding out during the regular season has rarely led to the desired results for other players. Overall, it seems unlikely that he would take the drastic step of sitting out a regular season game with seemingly little to gain.

Nikhil Mehta contributed to this article.