Brandin Echols
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Pittsburgh Steelers defensive back Brandin Echols addressed facing his former team, the New York Jets, during Week 1.
Quarterback Aaron Rodgers won’t be the only Pittsburgh Steelers player facing his former team in Week 1 of the 2025 NFL season. Defensive back Brandin Echols also played for the New York Jets last season.
Unlike Rodgers, who has tried to minimized the importance of facing the Jets, Echols shared with the media that he’s looking forward to meeting his former team.
“I’ve been waiting on this game since they first dropped the schedule,” Echols said, via TribLive.com’s Chris Adamski. “No doubt, it’s going to be exciting for me personally.”
Echols said his Jets tenure had “ups and downs” but stressed that he “definitely got some good memories” while playing in New York. But as expected just based on human nature, Echols seems ready to show his former team what they will be missing without him this season.
The Jets drafted Echols at No. 200 overall in the sixth round of the 2021 NFL Draft. He earned an immediate significant role, starting 14 games as a rookie.
Over four seasons with the Jets, Echols posted 112 combined tackles, including three tackles for loss. He also had 16 pass defenses and five interceptions.
Brandin Echols to Fulfill New Steelers Role Against Jets
New York featured Echols in his largest defensive role since his rookie season last year. During 2024, Echols played 407 defensive snaps in 16 games, four of which he started.
Yet, the Jets still didn’t show much interest in bringing back the 27-year-old on a new contract. The Steelers signed Echols to a two-year, $6 million deal.
Pittsburgh has arguably its best cornerback depth in years. This offseason, the Steelers added both veterans Jalen Ramsey and Darius Slay to pair with Joey Porter Jr., who the franchise still appears to view as a future No. 1 cornerback.
But Echols made the Steelers roster as the No. 4 cornerback. His versatility will enable him to see the field in multiple ways for Pittsburgh’s secondary. He could also play significant snaps if any of the team’s top cornerbacks suffer an injury.
Echols is expected to play on special teams as well. Over four seasons with the Jets, Echols averaged about 177 special teams snaps per year.
Steelers-Jets Matchup a ‘Revenge’ Opportunity for Aaron Rodgers, Justin Fields
With all due respect to Echols, his storyline isn’t the main focus of the Steelers-Jets showdown in Week 2. Rodgers and fellow quarterback Justin Fields facing their former teams is the top reason the game will be shown to most of the country in the 1 pm ET window on CBS during Week 1.
Rodgers was Echols’ teammate with the Jets for two seasons from 2023-24. In his first season with New York, Rodgers played four snaps before suffering an Achilles injury that knocked him out the rest of the season.
Last season, Rodgers posted the worst record of his career (5-12) as a starter. The Jets released him in March.
However, the four-time MVP has downplayed the personal importance of facing the Jets.
“I’ll just be excited for Week 1,” Rodgers told reporters, via TribLive.com’s Joe Rutter.
The Steelers didn’t release Fields but were reportedly unwilling to match the guaranteed money the Jets offered the quarterback. Fields signed with New York in free agency.
Fields went 4-2 as a Steelers starter last season. He showcased improved accuracy in a small sample but still appeared to struggle at reading defenses.
Both quarterbacks will have an opportunity in Week 1 to prove to their former teams they shouldn’t have moved on from them this past offseason.