Steelers safety Terrell Edmunds proves his value with leadership, intangibles

When Terrell Edmunds was not in uniform Oct. 9 at the Buffalo Bills, it was only the second time he missed a game since being drafted in 2018.

A week later, Edmunds’ value to the Pittsburgh Steelers — measured via steady, reliable availability — perhaps was on display more than ever.

Edmunds was the only healthy Steelers starting defensive back able to play during the Oct. 16 home win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. While deserved plaudits have been given to fill-ins from the practice squad such as Josh Jackson, Quincy Wilson and Elijah Riley, Edmunds was the glue for the secondary against a Tom Brady-led passing attack.

“Being the only veteran in that group,” coach Mike Tomlin said, “I can’t say enough about what he was able to do in terms of holding that group together on the field, doing a good job of communicating formally and informally.”

Defensive backs Cameron Sutton (hamstring), Levi Wallace (concussion) and Minkah Fitzpatrick (knee) were active Sunday night against the Miami Dolphins. But with those three and Ahkello Witherspoon out, the Steelers relied on a secondary that included Edmunds, part-time subpackage contributors Arthur Maulet and Tre Norwood and the likes of Jackson, Wilson and Riley (all added to the Steelers practice squad since after the Saint Vincent portion of training camp ended).

Edmunds, in his fifth season as the starting strong safety since he was drafted No. 28 overall in 2018, is still only 25 years old. But a combination of 71 games of NFL experience and the pedigree of having a father and two brothers who had or are having long NFL careers makes Edmunds seem to play well beyond his years.

“I’ll tell you what, ‘T.E.’ played really well last week,” defensive coordinator Teryl Austin said. “He did a lot of really good things, and that was good because he was the veteran out there. He was a guy that’s played a lot of football for us. I thought he did a good job leading the way for us in the back end.”

Edmunds was born three years after the career of father Ferrell Edmunds ended. A tight end, Ferrell played five of his seven NFL seasons with the Dolphins, whose home games then and now have been staged at the facility now called Hard Rock Stadium, where Sunday’s Steelers-Dolphins game took place.

The oldest of Ferrell’s three sons, Trey, was born two months after Ferrell’s final pro game played in 1994. Twenty-one of the 37 games Trey played in the NFL were for the Steelers as a special-teamer and backup running back.

The youngest of Ferrell’s sons, Tremaine, was drafted 12 picks before Terrell in 2018. Tremaine has been named an AFC Pro Bowl linebacker twice over his five seasons with the Bills.

A concussion Terrell suffered Oct. 2 meant there was no on-field reunion with Tremaine in Orchard Park, N.Y., earlier this month (all three Edmunds once made history by playing in a 2019 Steelers-Bills game). Terrell’s absence wasn’t close to the only reason Buffalo’s Josh Allen averaged 13.7 yards per attempt, but it didn’t help matters for a defense that has become used to his presence.

Edmunds led the Steelers in total snaps played as a rookie, and over his career, by season, he has appeared in 93%, 96%, 89%, 98% and 88% of the defensive snaps. Though the Steelers in 2021 declined Edmunds’ $6.75 million fifth-year contract option for this season, they were happy to re-sign him in April at a bargain price of roughly $2.5 million.

Edmunds might never make a Pro Bowl, but his dependability, intellect and leadership have made him a respected member of the locker room.

“I definitely felt like it was something I always had,” Edmunds said of his intangible strengths. “Last week, I guess it was more on notice because we had other guys out. But I was just, ‘Let’s go out there. Let’s win a football game no matter what it takes. Let’s keep working.’

“Doing whatever that helps the team win, putting my best foot forward each and every week and giving them 110%, even as a younger player, rookie, whatever, is just something I always do and feel like I always have done.”

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