With a battered and often leaky secondary getting beaten badly in their last two games, the Steelers have acquired safety Kyle Dugger and a seventh round draft pick from New England in exchange for a a sixth round draft choice.
Dugger was the Patriots’ second round pick in 2020 and is signed through 2027. He’d fallen out of favor with new Patriots coach Mike Vrabel. Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said yesterday that the team also worked out veteran safeties Eddie Jackson and Vonn Bell. Both have played nine years in the NFL, Jackson primarily with the Ravens and Bell mostly with the Bengals and Saints.
Tomlin said strong safety DeShon Elliott suffered a hyperextended knee Sunday against Green Bay and will miss at least this week. Defensive lineman Daniel Ekuale has a torn ACL in his knee and is out, probably for the season. Offensive guard Isaac Semualo has a pectoral muscle injury and is questionable. Wide receiver Scotty Miller had finger surgery and is also questionable.
Tomlin says the Steelers’ defense gave up too many long gains on Sunday against the Packers, and did not respond well.
Tomlin says players aren’t always going to make the right play, and those mistakes can be costly.
The coach says the best way to address defensive failures is to find the answers on the field in a game setting.
Tomlin said he doesn’t plan to make any changes to his defensive staff or the play calling.
