The Pittsburgh Steelers 2024 NFL season has come to a close. Because the Steelers are among the 31 teams who did not finish fulfilling their ultimate goal, they are in the process of wrapping up their season and moving forward into 2025.

Since the Steelers conduct exit interviews with all their players, and the fact I have done these articles in the past, we thought we would do them yet again here at Steel Curtain Network. By outlining two players each day, we will be able to look at their season in retrospect as well as looking toward the future. Since Coach Tomlin has previously stated he starts his interviews with rookies and those heading into free agency, we will attempt to do the same to some degree. To start, we will pair the most recent draftees with another player at the same position (if possible) as we work through this process to eventually cover the entire Steelers roster.

Next up are safeties Minkah Fitzpatrick and DeShon Elliott.

Minkah Fitzpatrick

Position: Safety
Years with the Steelers: 6
Years in the NFL: 7
Contract Status: Signed through 2026
Contract Details: $22,355,000 salary cap hit for 2025. Would cost the Steelers $13,710,000 in dead money if released and save $8,645,000.
Games played in 2024: 17 regular season
Games started in 2024: 17 regular season
Snaps (regular season): 1083 (defense), 77 (special teams)
PFF score: 65.2 (42nd of 98)
Notable stats: Fitzpatrick had 96 tackles, one of which was for loss, one interception, one forced fumble, and 4 passes defensed.

Notes: It was not the strongest season for Minkah Fitzpatrick despite him eventually being named to the Pro Bowl. He tied for his second most tackles in a season and did break his streak of games without an interception late in the season. But getting the most out of Fitzpatrick will require all the right pieces in the secondary, despite the Steelers getting the best complementary safety play they had seen since Minkah arrived in Pittsburgh. There would be more dead money than cap savings should the Steelers wants to move on from Fitzpatrick this offseason, a move that would shock a lot of Steelers fans, but this season will possibly determine whether or not they will consider doing so next year.

DeShon Elliott

Position: Safety
Years with the Steelers: 1
Years in the NFL: 6
Contract Status: Signed through 2025
Contract Details: $3,750,000 salary cap hit for 2025. Would cost the Steelers $750,000 in dead money if released and save $3 million.
Games played in 2024: 15 regular season
Games started in 2024: 14 regular season
Snaps (regular season): 823 (defense), 56 (special teams)
PFF score: 71.7 (27th of 98)
Notable stats: Elliott had 108 tackles, 4 of which were for loss, one interception, 2 forced fumbles, 3 fumble recoveries, and 6 passes defensed.

Notes: Although his teammate made the Pro Bowl at safety, DeShon Elliott arguably had a significantly better season. It was noticeable when Elliott was out of the lineup in Week 15 and Week 16. Having his most tackles of his career and his second most passes defensed, Elliott was the most surprising production of any of the Steelers 2024 free agent acquisitions. Hopefully Elliott brings it at the same level this year which could earn him another contract next offseason. That’s assuming the Steelers don’t extend him by the start of the 2025 season, which is at least a possibility.

Make sure you check back each day for another set of exit interviews. If you have missed any of the previous articles, they are listed here:

Troy Fautanu & Broderick Jones
Zach Frazier & Ryan McCollum
Roman Wilson & Van Jefferson
Payton Wilson & Patrick Queen
Mason McCormick & James Daniels
Logan Lee & Isaiahh Loudermilk
Ryan Watts & Damontae Kazee
Joey Porter Jr. & James Pierre
Keeanu Benton & Montravius Adams
Darnell Washington & Pat Freiermuth
Nick Herbig & Jeremiah Moon
Cory Trice Jr. & Donte Jackson
Spencer Anderson & Calvin Anderson
Larry Ogunjobi & Preston Smith
Beanie Bishop Jr. & Cameron Sutton
George Pickens & Mike Williams
DeMarvin Leal & Dean Lowry
Calvin Austin III & Ben Skowronek
Connor Heyward & MyCole Pruitt
Mark Robinson & Elandon Roberts
Najee Harris & Jaylen Warren
Russell Wilson & Justin Fields
Kyle Allen & Cordarrelle Patterson
Isaac Seumalo & Max Scharping
Tyler Matakevich & C.J. Henderson
Miles Killebrew & Christian Kuntz
Corliss Waitman & Cameron Johnston