Special-teams ace Miles Killebrew among Steelers to step up with Minkah Fitzpatrick out

Elijah Riley took stock of the safeties corps he is a part of in the Pittsburgh Steelers locker room.

“We are all pros,” Riley said earlier this week, “even if (each individual) hasn’t reached All-Pro.”

The one member of his position group that has — perennially — reached that status is not available to the Steelers this week. A hamstring injury will prevent Minkah Fitzpatrick from playing Thursday against the Tennessee Titans.

Predictably, that development elicited a common answer this week from the Steelers defense, a refrain that might be the quintessential cliche of the Mike Tomlin era.

“Next-man-up mentality,” Riley said.

“We know,” safety Keanu Neal said, “next man up.”

“Right now,” added safety Damontae Kazee, “the next man up has got to come in and show out.”

But who exactly is that next man up? Depends on how you define it.

Kazee and Neal have spent the season as the “Robins” to Fitzpatrick’s “Batman” at the back of the Steelers defense. For the foreseeable future, each takes on a more elevated role.

This week, Tomlin and defensive coordinator Teryl Austin each noted that veteran future Hall of Fame cornerback Patrick Peterson is capable of filling the Fitzpatrick void at safety. That possibility would seem all the more likely with the declaration that rookie Joey Porter Jr. has ascended to a starting role at outside cornerback. Steelers coaches might feel more comfortable bumping Peterson back to safety with fellow veteran Levi Wallace available to play opposite Porter at outside corner. (Wallace has been listed as being estimated as a limited practice participant the past two days on the injury report).

Riley, too, is an option in the secondary in addition to his role on special teams.

But after Fitzpatrick went down early during Sunday’s loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, it was Miles Killebrew who became the next man up as the third safety. Killebrew played 12 defensive snaps, the most he has played in a game over three seasons with the Steelers.

“I know about his ability to make plays,” said Austin, who was the Detroit Lions defensive coordinator when the organization drafted Killebrew in 2016. “I’ve seen him make an interception and run it back for a touchdown (in 2017) and make big hits, so he has that ability to make some splash plays (on defense). … Whenever (or) if he’s on the field this week, that’s what we’ll be looking for.”

Killebrew certainly has made splash plays for the Steelers on special teams, where he has served as the unit’s captain the past two seasons. He has recorded three blocked punts since 2021, but until Sunday, he had played just 61 defensive snaps over 40 games with the Steelers, mostly as part of the goal-line package.

“He brings another big body,” Kazee said of the 6-foot-2, 222-pound Killebrew. “He can play in the box, a guy that you can stick on tight ends as well. (Killebrew brings) a smartness.”

After a Killebrew blocked a punt earlier this season, Tomlin called Killebrew “the best in the world” at that skill. And being voted captain proves Killebrew has the respect of his teammates.

But Thursday, Killebrew knows he likely will have to be a relied-upon member of the defense.

“It surely is another beast, right?” Killebrew asked, rhetorically. “Special teams is a whole other game. But at the end of the day, it’s still running and tackling. Football is not all that complicated. We just have to make sure we are playing a positional game and making sure we are talking and seeing things together the same way.”

Riley is in a similar spot as one of the Steelers’ most relied-upon special teamers but a player who has seen only 30 defensive snaps over two seasons with the team. He is more of an option as a deep/free safety or in a slot/nickel role.

“Obviously, we approach it with a little more readiness,” Riley said of he and Killebrew. “As ‘teamers,’ usually, throughout the week, we are not as fluid with the defense in practice. Now this week, we have to prepare as such.

“But my individual preparation doesn’t change. I always approach every week as if I will get on the field. And I am going to continue to do so, maybe with a little bit more intensity.”

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