Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Donte Jackson suffered a back injury in the second quarter of Sunday’s game against the Philadelphia Eagles. He’s questionable to return.
Jackson was down on the field for a while before gingerly walking off with the team’s medical staff. He then went into the blue medical tend for further evaluation. Veteran corner James Pierre replaced Jackson.
With Jackson out, Hurts completed a 2-yard touchdown pass to Davonta Smith to enhance the Eagles’ lead to 17-3. Pierre was in coverage on the play. Jackson exited Sunday’s game during the third quarter, walking to the sideline under his own power with what was later labeled as a back injury. Jackson had a patch on his back after the game.
Jackson exited last Sunday’s game with a back injury. He had a patch on his back after the game. It appears the injury flared up again against the Eagles.
Along with a sixth-round 2024 draft pick, Jackson was acquired last offseason in a trade that sent receiver Diontae Johnson and a 2024 seventh-round pick to Carolina. Jackson has pulled in interceptions against Atlanta, Dallas, Las Vegas, Cleveland, and Cincinnati — totaling five on the season, his most in any campaign of his seven-year professional career.
The secondary was already without strong safety DeShon Elliott, who was sidelined with a hamstring injury.
Elliott had a team-high 13 tackles and a pass breakup in Sunday’s win against the Browns. Elliott had eight stops against Cleveland, according to Pro Football Focus. Stops are characterized by PFF as tackles that result in failure for the opposing offense. He has 28 stop on the season.
“DeShon Elliott, I think is tackling at a high level from the safety position,” Tomlin said on Tuesday.
Elliott is second on the the team in tackles with 96 (63 solo), but he’s also been elite in coverage. PFF has Elliott tabbed with a 66.0 grade in coverage. Elliott is PFF’s No. 3-graded safety in run-defense (89.7) and No. 4 in tackling (89.9), having missed only 2% of tackles this year.