Two-Time Super Bowl Champion Will Play Important Role in Steelers Defense
Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin says new safety Juan Thornhill will play an important role in the defense.
PALM BEACH, Fla. — The Pittsburgh Steelers signed two-time Super Bowl champion safety Juan Thornhill to a one-year deal this offseason and head coach Mike Tomlin revealed he’s going to play an important role.
Safeties Minkah Fitzpatrick and DeShon Elliott are set to return as the Steelers starters in 2025, but Tomlin sees Thornhill playing meaningful snaps too as part of their three-safety rotation.
“We’re going to certainly mix that up in today’s game. You need three safety structure defenses for multiple tight end sets and situational play,” Tomlin said. “All of those guys are really versatile. We’re very familiar with Juan and his talents because we’ve competed against him, and so that’s going to be a fun endeavor to figure out how to divide the labor up, and that certainly will change from time to time. We expect those guys to be interchangeable pieces and really provide a challenge for the offenses that we compete against.”
Free agent safety Damontae Kazee held that role in Pittsburgh’s defense over the past three seasons (2022-24), but the team decided to let him leave in free agency after he struggled to stay on the field due to injury and a pair of suspensions for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy and a hit that landed Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. in the concussion protocol.
The Steelers are taking a similar risk with Thornhill, who has also missed significant time as of late. He has played in just 11 games in each of the past two seasons with the Cleveland Browns.
However, Thornhill brings championship-caliber play when healthy as he helped the Kansas City Chiefs will two Super Bowls in the first four years of his NFL career.
So while Thornhill will enter the season as the No. 3 safety on the Steelers depth chart, he will bring flexibility to the defense, as long as he can stay healthy.
In his six-year career, Thornhill has appeared in 87 games with 74 starts and recorded 337 tackles, six tackles for loss, seven quarterback hits, 24 passes defended, eight interceptions, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and one sack.
Alan Saunders contributed reporting from Palm Beach, Fla.