The Pittsburgh Steelers continue to shore up their roster in free agency under GM Omar Khan, and late Thursday night a Pittsburgh native returned home in the process.
Former Gateway High School and Penn State star Jaquan Brisker, who spent the first four seasons of his career with the Chicago Bears, reportedly agreed to a one-year deal with the Steelers. He is the second safety the franchise has added in free agency, joining Darnell Savage.
Brisker was one of the top safeties on the market and the Steelers seemingly landed him at a discount on a one-year deal at just $5.5 million.
They get a solid box safety with some versatility to handle two-high and single-high reps in the process. Brisker gives them another experienced, physical safety to pair with DeShon Elliott and Jalen Ramsey in 2026 under first-year defensive coordinator Patrick Graham.
Last season, Brisker played 1,220 snaps for the Bears, grading out at a 64.6 overall from Pro Football Focus. He was quite good as a run defender, grading out at a 79.0 in that department, but had just a 54.1 overall PFF grade in coverage.
Brisker was charged with 36 receptions allowed on 50 targets for 374 yards and four touchdowns. But he did have one interception and five pass breakups on the season. It remains to be seen how he’ll fit alongside another box safety in DeShon Elliott, but what the Steelers are getting in Brisker is another physical defender who thrives working in the box and can serve as that extra linebacker.
Brisker has played 1,289 career snaps in the box, 1,272 snaps at free safety, 361 snaps along the defensive line, 337 snaps in the slot, and 103 snaps at corner. How will that translate to Pittsburgh? That remains to be seen, but the Steelers landed a talented player who should be an impact defender in 2026.
Let’s take a look.
RUN DEFENSE
As a defender who lives in the box, Brisker plays like a linebacker. He’s a sound tackler who rarely misses around the line of scrimmage or in space. In his career, Brisker has missed just 40 tackles, good for a missed-tackles percentage of just 10.2%. Last season, he missed only eight tackles for a 6.5% missed-tackles rate.
He’s a physical defender who dishes out punishment, especially in the box.
Nice rep here against the Minnesota Vikings and running back Aaron Jones last season. He’s on the move before the snap, rotating pre-snap. He’s a good communicator and is constantly signaling to his defensive backs, ensuring communication is on point.
Watch how quickly he diagnoses this play. He changes directions in the blink of an eye and then fires downhill, cutting down Jones after a 2-yard gain.
A few weeks later against the Detroit Lions, Brisker again showed his chops in the box.
He reads things very well, especially when working downhill. He is able to sift through traffic and find the football, much like a linebacker does. It comes naturally to him.
When he arrives at the ball carrier, he brings some punishment. He wraps up consistently and makes sure to send the running back backwards. He did it against New Orleans RB Alvin Kamara a few weeks later, too.
Brisker is very patient in the box, especially when defending the run. He truly does play like another linebacker, which provides the defense with a great deal of flexibility from a personnel perspective. He’s comfortable rotating down into the box and working against bigger, stronger offensive linemen.
His run defense isn’t just as an in-the-box guy either. He can cover a lot of ground from a two-high look and flashed some serious playmaking chops in that role against the Los Angeles Rams in the playoffs.
That’s a ton of ground Brisker covered from a two-high look. He takes an efficient route, and once he arrives at the ball carrier in the backfield, he does the most important thing: finish.
COVERAGE
As a guy that spends a lot of time in the box, being tested in coverage isn’t something that happens to Brisker all that often, especially working downfield. Most of his targets against last season were short, quick throws. He does have some issues in two-high and single-high looks though.
He can be manipulated in space, and had some rough moments where he tends to guess what the receiver is running.
Watch how he gets caught leaning outside here against Detroit’s Amon-Ra St. Brown, leading to St. Brown bursting inside and creating a splash play. He isn’t the fastest or most explosive, so he has to try and be one step ahead in coverage to allow him to be in position to make plays.
But when he guesses wrong or gets caught leaning, he’s a liability.
Brisker has had some good moments in coverage though. His interception against Washington’s Jayden Daniels was very impressive and showed his ability to play in space.
Good ball skills to pluck the ball out of the air, and he does a great job in his drop of gaining depth and then undercutting the receiver working vertically.
He looks pretty fluid after the catch, too, showing off his athleticism.
Where Brisker is going to be very good for the Steelers is as that underneath defender in coverage, one that can drive downhill and disrupt throwing lanes.
Overall, I think the Steelers did very well adding a piece like Brisker. He’s a physical defender, one that tackles well, can play in the box or in a deep safety role, and will bring a real edge to the defense. That matches up very well with DeShon Elliott, and it reunites him with former Penn State teammates Joey Porter Jr.
We’ll see how the snaps and roles are distributed in 2026 defensively, but adding a piece as talented as Brisker is a good bet from the Steelers’ perspective on a one-year deal.
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