Steelers to sign veteran safety Jabrill Peppers with DeShon Elliott ruled out for Week 2

Mike Tomlin thinks so highly of Jabrill Peppers that he mistakenly thought the former Michigan star safety was a high first-round pick when he was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in 2017.

Tomlin seemed to be taken aback when asked Tuesday whether the Steelers, who had shown pre-draft interest in Peppers eight years ago, considered taking him in the first round.

“I don’t want picks that high,” Tomlin said, mindful that the historically inept Browns also had the first overall pick that year. “That requires you to lose a lot of games.”

Reminded that Peppers wasn’t taken until the No. 25 pick that year — with the Steelers still on the board — Tomlin laughed at his gaffe.

“I don’t know. I just assumed it was earlier than that,” he said.

The Steelers didn’t fare too bad in the first round that year, getting outside linebacker T.J. Watt at No. 30. And Tomlin finally landed Peppers on Tuesday when the Steelers agreed to sign him after starting safety DeShon Elliott suffered a knee injury in the season-opening 34-32 victory Sunday against the New York Jets.

Peppers was a surprise roster cut in late August by the New England Patriots and was a free agent. The Steelers are his fourth team, following three-year stints with New England and the New York Giants after he spent two years with the Browns.

“We’ll get him up to speed about what we’re asking him to do,” Tomlin said at his weekly news conference.

Elliott injured his knee during the second quarter of the Steelers’ game against the Jets on Sunday and did not return. Chuck Clark filled in for Elliott the rest of the game.

Tomlin ruled out Elliott from playing Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks, but he said it was too early to determine whether Elliott, who reportedly has an MCL sprain, will be placed on injured reserve.

“He’s an experienced member of our secondary,” Tomlin said. “We had some big plans in terms of his usage and his role as a communicator. Certainly, I was not displeased with the effort of Chuck Clark, but I was highly concerned with the number of new Steelers in an in-stadium circumstance on the back end having to communicate.”

The Steelers had five newcomers play in the secondary against the Jets: cornerbacks Jalen Ramsey, Darius Slay and Brandin Echols and safeties Juan Thornhill and Clark.

In Peppers, they add a sixth new face to the mix.

Peppers, 29, was a two-time All-American and Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year at Michigan. In 99 career games, he has 551 tackles, including 30 for a loss, as well as seven interceptions. Two of those interceptions came against the Steelers, but Tomlin is more aware of Peppers’ college resume.

“We did so much work on him in the draft (that) maybe his Michigan plays stand out more than his professional plays,” Tomlin said. “He was used in a real unique way that really highlighted his talents.”

Peppers was a two-way player and a special teams star at Michigan. In the NFL, Peppers has shown similar versatility, although he hasn’t been used on offense. He can play both safety positions as well as nickel corner. He also has found a niche on special teams as a returner and coverage player.

“He’s a football player first, positional player second,” Tomlin said. “He has displayed position flexibility over his career. … He’s just a good, well-rounded football player.”

Peppers also had an off-field issue last year that might have contributed to his release from the Patriots this summer. He missed seven games last season while on the commissioner’s exempt list after charges of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon were filed against him. He was acquitted by a jury Jan. 24. Peppers also admitted to cocaine possession ahead of the trial.

The Steelers are giving Peppers a fresh start, much the way they did to cornerback Cameron Sutton last year. Sutton was brought back to the organization after a domestic battery charge was filed against him. Sutton served an eight-game suspension and then played the second half of the season with the Steelers.