For the past two seasons, Elandon Roberts provided an intense physicality to the Pittsburgh Steelers’ defense. He made several big plays, giving the Steelers a consistent presence in the middle of their defense. However, they allowed him to leave in free agency this offseason. Now, Roberts is with the Las Vegas Raiders. He recently reflected on his career, explaining why his time in Pittsburgh was difficult initially.
“I’m not gonna lie to you, my hardest transition was probably when I went to Pittsburgh,” Roberts said Tuesday on The Rush with Maxx Crosby. “When I was in New England, I was drafted there, so I was young. I’m learning from vets. I’m learning that culture. But then, I went to Miami with Brian Flores. That was my New England culture that we was trying to bring.
“So, I knew the standard, I knew what they wanted. When I was in New England, becoming a leader for all of them years because I wasn’t a captain in New England until year four. When I went to Miami, I was a three-year captain….But when I got to Pittsburgh, it was hard for me. Not the place, just not being able to be a leader in a way. When I say that, they’ve got Cam Heyward, they’ve got T.J. Watt, they’ve got Miles Killebrew.”
Despite Pittsburgh not being his first new home in the NFL, it makes sense why that move was more difficult for Roberts. During the first four years of his career, he was with the New England Patriots. There, he won two Super Bowls, being part of the machine built by Bill Belichick and Tom Brady. At that time, the Patriots had a well-defined culture.
In 2020, Roberts left the Patriots, signing with the Miami Dolphins. While that was a new team, like he says, they were trying to recreate New England’s culture. Part of that was due to Flores spending much of his early coaching career with the Patriots.
Flores was also Roberts’ position coach during his time with the Patriots. Therefore, he dealt with a lot of familiarity between his first two teams. The Steelers presented a new environment with a new culture.
During his time in Pittsburgh, their defense was full of leaders. Heyward and Watt were captains, with great players like Minkah Fitzpatrick and Alex Highsmith also on the roster. Therefore, Roberts found himself in a slightly new position. He wasn’t a young player trying to grow, but he also wasn’t one of the sole veterans that was expected to step up as a leader. That didn’t stop him from making plays, though.
As Roberts explains during the same podcast, he was unsure of himself at the start in Pittsburgh, but eventually, he found his role.
“You’re kind of like, ‘Okay, I don’t want to step on no toes, I don’t want to do this, I don’t want to do that.’ But as it went, it’s like I had to start making plays on the defensive side to really be like, ‘Hey, can we,’ or ‘As of this, as of that, we need to do this.'”
While Roberts might have had some trepidation to start his time in Pittsburgh, he established himself quickly. In his first year with the team, they dealt with a ton of injuries at inside linebacker. Roberts stepped up in a big way, as a player and a leader.
During his second year with the Steelers, Roberts looked more comfortable. On and off the field, he seemed to settle in, adjusting to Pittsburgh’s culture. While it might’ve been a tough transition for him, he eventually got over that newness and grew into an important piece of the Steelers’ defense. His physicality will likely be hard to replace.
Now, Roberts finds himself with his fourth team in the Raiders. They’re in a different spot compared to the Steelers, looking more like a rebuilding team. However, they have some great defensive players in place, like Crosby. That makes it sort of a mixture of Roberts’ previous spots.
It sounds like Pittsburgh helped Roberts grow in that regard, though. The Steelers won’t face Roberts and his new team this year, unless the two face off in the playoffs. It should be interesting to follow how the veteran linebacker adjusts to his new home, though. He was a great part of the Steelers for the past few seasons, and hopefully, he finds success in Las Vegas.
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