PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Steelers' defense has another former first-round pick in the fold.
The team plans to sign safety Jabrill Peppers, coach Mike Tomlin said in his Tuesday news conference. Peppers' addition is a byproduct of safety DeShon Elliott's knee injury against the Jets, Tomlin added, and Elliott will be out for the Week 2 home opener against the Seattle Seahawks.
"He's a football player first, positional player second," Tomlin said of Peppers. "He's displayed position flexibility over the course of his career at either safety position, at run-down nickel. He's been a capable guy in a special teams space over the course of his career covering kicks, returning punts. He's just a good well-rounded football player. And so, I'm glad to add and have him in the fold."
Peppers, selected 25th in the 2017 draft, spent the past three seasons in New England before a surprise release on cut-down day last month. In joining the Steelers, Peppers will face his former team in Week 3 when the Steelers travel to Gillette Stadium to face the Patriots.
Peppers played just six games in 2024 after being placed on the commissioner exempt list while he faced charges of assault and battery. He was later found not guilty in a January jury trial.
Peppers was also hampered by foot and hamstring injuries during the 2024 season, but he still finished the year with an interception, two passes defensed, a forced fumble and two tackles for loss. In an eight-year career that also includes three seasons with the Giants and two with the Browns, Peppers recorded 7 interceptions, 6 forced fumbles, 7 fumble recoveries and 511 tackles. He started 26 games during his three-year tenure in New England. He initially joined the Patriots as a free agent on a two-year deal, but he inked a three-year, $24 million extension with the organization last season before a coaching staff turnover this offseason.
Not only is Tomlin familiar with Peppers from his stint in Cleveland, but he also scouted Peppers as a prospect when he entered the draft out of Michigan.
"I think maybe his Michigan plays probably stand out more than his professional plays," Tomlin said, asked which of Peppers' plays against the Steelers stood out to him. "He was just used a real unique way in Michigan that really highlighted his talents. I think he was even a two-way player at one point. He played linebacker-like in some of their bear structured fronts; he returned kicks. He was just a well-rounded football player in all areas of the game."
Asked if he would have drafted Peppers that year, Tomlin smiled.
"I don't want to take picks that high," he said. "That requires you to lose a lot of games."
The Steelers, by the way, drafted T.J. Watt five picks after the Browns selected Peppers. Reminded that Peppers was taken 25th, the coach laughed.
"I just assumed it was earlier than that," he said.
Peppers' addition not only shores up a safety unit that will take a hit with Elliott's Week 2 absence -- though his knee injury is considered "shorter-term," per a league source -- but it also adds another physical presence to a run defense that gave up 182 rushing yards to the Jets.
Tomlin was blunt in what he wants to see out of his run defense in its next outing against Seattle.
"I want us to be stouter," he said.