The Pittsburgh Steelers strengthened their safety depth on Wednesday by bringing back Chuck Clark after initially cutting him from the first 53-man roster. Still, the team only has three true safeties on the active roster, discounting undrafted rookie Sebastian Castro on the practice squad and Miles Killebrew as the special teams ace.
NFL rosters will continue to take shape as we approach the kickoff to the 2025 NFL regular season. Pittsburgh is no exception, especially given the unusual composition of the defensive backfield, despite the exciting starters.
In that respect, everyone around the league is taking a close look at who is available, whether they are on a practice squad or sitting by their phone at home. Thanks to the celebrity factor, one name that has a ton of attention is Shilo Sanders, who spent the preseason with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Sanders spent two seasons at South Carolina before transferring to Colorado to play for his dad, Deion. Shilo didn’t drum up quite as much notoriety as his brother, Shadeur, out in Boulder, but his last name carries weight in the defensive backfield.
Sanders had 170 tackles, forced five fumbles, and had an 80-yard pick-six in his college career, but he ultimately went undrafted before signing with the Bucs.
Why the Pittsburgh Steelers don't need the Shilo Sanders experiment
He put in a solid camp for Tampa Bay, but he was cut ahead of the 53-man roster release after throwing a punch in the preseason finale. So far, through Tampa’s roster management moves, Sanders hasn’t been included, and it looks like his time with the Buccaneers has come to an end.
So, should the Steelers kick the tires on Shilo, knowing they’ll face his brother in Cleveland eventually?
Naturally, the answer is no. The Steelers have four guys at safety they know and trust, and bringing in Sanders adds to the media circus in Pittsburgh that the team seemed to have intentionally avoided by deciding not to draft Shadeur, despite many expecting him to be their first-round pick.
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The Steelers certainly feel great about their starting duo in Juan Thornhill and DeShon Elliott, and Clark and Killebrew are veterans who can provide help in a pinch. While Castro’s preseason performance wasn’t everything Steelers fans hoped for, his presence on the practice squad is solid insurance while he grows and develops into an NFL-caliber player.
Ultimately, Shilo Sanders isn’t worth the headache for Pittsburgh, and there are certainly more important matters to be discussed about the Steelers' roster elsewhere, especially when the defense is the least of the team’s concerns heading into the regular season.