Mike Tomlin Gives Week 4 Injury Updates On Pair Of Steelers DBs

The Pittsburgh Steelers could be getting back two crucial members of their secondary in Week 4.

Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin addressed the status of both cornerback Joey Porter Jr. and safety DeShon Elliot on Tuesday, five days ahead of the team’s meeting with the Minnesota Vikings in the 2025 NFL Dublin Game in Ireland.

According to a report by Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Tomlin said that both Elliott and Porter Jr. have a chance to suit up against the Vikings.

Tomlin compared the situation to first-round rookie defensive tackle Derrick Harmon, who missed the first two games of the season with a sprained MCL, but returned in Week 3 vs. the New England Patriots. Harmon played just 35 snaps in his NFL debut on Sunday.

“We were in a similar situation last week with Derrick Harmon,” Tomlin said, per the report. “He was deemed healthy enough to play. We got him in uniform, but we were certainly cognizant of the number of snaps he played. Health and football readiness and conditioning can sometimes be different things. We’ll watch those guys close and make appropriate decisions in the latter part of the week.”

Elliott has missed the past two games due to a knee injury, while Porter Jr. sat out Weeks 2 and 3 with a hamstring ailment.

The Steelers have the 28th-ranked defense, allowing 386.0 yards per game and have been particularly weak shutting down opponent’s air attack. Pittsburgh is 26th in the league in passing yards allowed per contest (246.7).

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