One of the biggest long-term question marks on the Pittsburgh Steelers roster is at safety. The room features Jalen Ramsey in a hybrid role, Deshon Elliott returning as a talented veteran, and Jaquan Brisker brought in to rebound from an injury-plagued 2025 season.
On paper, the room looked fine, but after 2026, the questions really began. Ramsey will have a monstrous $21.7 million cap hit, which is tough to swallow for a player in decline.
Elliott is under contract through 2027, but he is getting ever closer to age 30, and injuries have kept him off the field for the better part of a year. Brisker hasn’t played well enough to warrant keeping him past his current one-year deal.
All of this to say, there was a real chance that the Steelers would once again need to invest in the safety room once again in 2027. Realistically, this position could have been Pittsburgh target in the first round.
Robert Spears-Jennings is changing that narrative.
The rookie seventh-round pick has gone from roster long-shot to special teams stud to valuable starter on defense all over the course of a few months. While time will tell just what his ceiling can be, it seems like he has starter written all over him moving forward.
The Pittsburgh Steelers have a great young safety in Robert Spears-Jennings
Deemed a raw prospect who fell farther than most analysts expected, Spears-Jennings entered training camp with one path to the roster: special teams. It was an area he excelled at in school. Defensive snaps as a rookie were a distant afterthought.
Injuries ravaged the safety room in camp, which opened the door to playing time. He stacked good practices and solid preseason games en route to making the team. With Elliott still injured and veteran Rayshawn Jenkins a liability (before he was cut), Spears-Jennings forced his way onto the field.
He hasn’t disappointed.
Through seven games, he has recorded 21 tackles and an interception. Most of those stats have come in recent weeks, as he didn’t see the field defensively until Week 4. Since then, he has been a steady presence in the secondary.
No, he isn’t making the elite, high-level plays of a true top safety, but he is playing a well-rounded game with few weaknesses. For a seventh-round pick, you couldn’t ask for a better start to his career.
PFF has given him a 77 overall grade, which puts him 11th in the entire NFL in terms of its ranking system. That is high praise for a player many expected to start his career on the practice squad.
Assuming he continues to play at this high level, he provides a stable body in the safety room moving forward. While the veteran trio of starters won’t all be back in 2027, it is safe to assume at least one familiar face will return. With Spears-Jennings in the fold, you already have two capable starters on the roster.
Of course, other names will be added to the room, especially if the Steelers part ways with multiple veterans in the safety room. Heck, the team could still use their top pick on a safety. However, it doesn’t feel like a must anymore because of Spears-Jennings’ rise.
No one expected a seventh-round safety to make this much noise this early, but Spears-Jennings certainly looks the part of a viable NFL starter. His early ascension can help steady the boat for the Steelers as they look to redo their safety room in 2027.
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