The Pittsburgh Steelers have finally righted a major late-summer wrong, signing Elandon Roberts back to the practice squad on Monday. Roberts was one of the emotional leaders in the Steelers’ defense in 2023, helping fill the vacated in-helmet radio “green dot” position after a devastating set of injuries to Pittsburgh’s linebacker corps. 

First reported by Steelers Now’s Alan Saunders and confirmed by Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writer Gerry Dulac, the Steelers made the move to upgrade their tackling, with Dulac noting the signing was not caused by an injury at inside linebacker. Elandon Roberts started 15 games for Pittsburgh in 2023, proving his reliability at the line of scrimmage during his first season with the team.

“When the roster deadline came, Pittsburgh did not keep him on the 53-man roster,” wrote A to Z Sports’ Rob Gregson. “The team did not keep him on the practice squad, either. The Steelers simply cut bait with arguably their best tackler. It was a head-scratcher at the time, and it looks even worse now.”

Elandon Roberts has 2 Super Bowl rings and 121 career NFL starts, so the decision by the Steelers front office to cut him loose on August 30, a mere 18 days after they signed him, was a baffling one.

After 5 weeks of watching ball-carriers absolutely slip through the defense’s grasp, Mike McCarthy confirmed that Elandon Roberts is back.

“He brings a physical presence,” defensive coordinator Patrick Graham said. “He’s a guy who is going to come in every day and do his job.” 

The national reaction didn’t get any kinder to the Steelers for releasing Elandon Roberts. Carter Bahns of CBS Sports ranked the Steelers’ release of Roberts as the ninth most surprising roster move in the NFL.

“His familiarity with the franchise and its staff, plus his perennial role as a contributor, made him an unforeseen cut,” Bahns wrote. 

Gerry Dulac reported Pittsburgh debated keeping 8 or 9 linebackers before younger players edged out Elandon Roberts. It all seemed a bit odd during the summer as well, considering he reported to training camp late and earned a nickname based on how little he had practiced.

Long snapper Christian Kuntz said on his podcast: “E-Rob’s first practice back, he’s got fresh legs…and man, he laid out three guys. That’s just E-Rob being E-Rob.”

Adding Roberts back onto the practice squad is a good move for the Steelers. Since he spent five weeks on the open market without taking regular-season hits, Roberts has relatively fresh legs. Under NFL policy, Roberts can be elevated to the active roster up to three times for games, and it would not require the Steelers to cut another player to make space. 

The primary reason for adding Elandon Roberts back to the practice squad is a glaring issue across the defense for the Steelers: missed arm tackles.

On Thursday Night Football against the Cleveland Browns, the Steelers surrendered a huge amount of chunk yardage after missed tackles in the secondary. This pattern continued into Week 5 against the Indianapolis Colts as Jonathan Taylor repeatedly broke through initial contact. 

“Missed tackles turn short gains into chunk plays,” wrote Rob Gregson. “Over the course of a season, those chunk plays add up, and that’s how a defense with real potential ends up giving away games. It’s simply not good enough.”

Elandon Roberts knows the defensive system of Steelers DC Patrick Graham, as he started 16 games for the Las Vegas Raiders in 2025 and made 90 total tackles and 6 tackles for loss. He’ll have no trouble learning the defense, and he’ll know exactly what to expect from the front seven. 

With a number of key defenders already injured, Roberts fits in perfectly in a number of ways. Pittsburgh defensive tackle Derrick Harmon suffered a foot injury in the Week 4 Thursday night matchup against the Browns, leaving the interior defensive line without its massive anchor. 

Roberts started 29 games for Pittsburgh in 2023 and 2024, making 147 tackles in that span, and he can plug right in as an interior run stopper. And while we don’t know yet if Elandon Roberts can make an immediate impact on the Steelers’ defense, we’ll find out soon enough.