The Pittsburgh Steelers have always been known as an organization that does a good job of keeping things in-house. There are very few leaks that occur when it comes to injuries. This was seen firsthand when it took days for fans to understand what truly happened to TJ Watt when he ended up in the hospital due to a collapsed lung in December of the 2025 season. Another mysterious ailment was that of DeShon Elliott's. The safety was a very important part of the team's defense, but went down with what was thought to be a knee injury in Week 8 against the Green Bay Packers.
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Steelers safety DeShon Elliott (25) stands on the field as the Pittsburgh goes through a workout during the annual Friday Night Lights practice at 2025 training camp in Latrobe, PA.
It was said to be a hyperextended knee, and there were some rumors as the Steelers geared up for the playoffs that Elliott might have a chance to return. However, new information has to come to light that suggests the defender wouldn't have played, no matter how far Pittsburgh went into the postseason. It's certainly a confusing situation, but fans caught a quick glimpse of Elliott rehabbing in the offseason as the organization attacks free agency.
Dr. Sharif Tabbah posted a video to his Instagram story that showed Elliott working out and going through plyometrics. It was good to see the safety getting after it and looking quick, but it was the final part of the post that should raise a lot of questions about what really happened in Week 8 against the Packers. It's fair to say that a lot of people may have been misinformed, as Elliott also re-posted the video to his profile.
"Restoring plyometrics with @deshonelliott post hamstring repair," Tabbah wrote.
There are very few details about what a hamstring repair could mean. This could have been some kind of minor procedure that needed to be done once the alleged knee injury was in the past. There is also the scenario, however, that what Elliott suffered wasn't just a knee injury after all. He could have had a very serious hamstring ailment that no one knew about as well. Either way, neither of these situations make it easy for a professional to come back at full strength.
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Steelers safety DeShon Elliott puts his hand in the air and points while the team works out during a practice that took place at the UPMC Sports Complex in Pittsburgh, PA.
A hamstring repair sounds quite serious. Tabbah was helping himself to promote his work with professional athletes, as other players such as Tank Dell and Ahmad "Sauce" Gardner were in videos posted on Wednesday as well. It's fair to note that there is no direct timestamp on what was shared, but the Alkeme Performance social media page also shared a video on Wednesday of Elliott and others working out.
This brings more layers of Elliott's situation to the surface. If he needed a full hamstring repair and is getting back in the swing of things in mid-March, it's likely that he would have been able to participate in the postseason. If the alleged hamstring repair was a surgery that took place once Pittsburgh was knocked out of the playoffs, that would insinuate that the safety is going to be coming back from multiple ailments.
There is a whole different possibility of Elliott suffering multiple injuries at once back in Week 8. He may have hyperextended his knee and recovered from that well enough to potentially suit up for a game in January. That would mean that the hamstring issue could have been worked through via treatment and aggressive stretching. The bottom line of it all is that Elliott seems to have had a procedure done on his hamstring.
The Steelers are very light at the backend of the secondary in terms of depth. Elliott could absolutely be good to go once Organized Team Activities (OTAs) begin, but there is a real chance that he was dealing with something that was much more serious than the fans and media alike even knew about. Overall, there now should be a little bit of confusion about what the injury really was that he suffered during the regular season; or, if a hamstring issue suddenly popped up.
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Steelers safety DeShon Elliott prepares to walk off the field as Pittsburgh played a professional football game on the road.
Steelers Once Again Do A Great Job Keeping Of Things Quiet
Regardless of what is going on with Elliott, at some point, there was some kind of hamstring repair that occurred. There's the off chance that Tabbah was simply commenting that the safety is working to gain strength in his hamstring, but that seems very unlikely. Most thought this was a knee injury that Elliott had to come back from, and now it appears as if it very well could have been a serious soft tissue problem that demanded a full repair — or worse, it could have been both.
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