Just over per week ago, Mike DeFabo of The Athletic noted that certainly one of the Steelers’ remaining concerns heading into training camp is safety depth. He claimed that it wouldn’t be surprising to see Pittsburgh “scouring the waiver wire on cutdown day so as to add to the secondary, preferably with a real free safety.”
It appears the team may not wait until the top of August, though, as they hosted two veterans on the position today. Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 reported this afternoon that the Steelers worked out Rayshawn Jenkins, and NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo reported that Jordan Whitehead was also present on today’s visit. The 2 veteran fourth-round picks have combined for 193 starts over 16 years of NFL play.
Jenkins profession began with the Chargers in 2017. The Miami-product became a full-time starter in Los Angeles by Yr 3 and maintained a starting job when he returned to Florida as free agent addition for the Jaguars on a four-year, $35MM deal. Jenkins posted a profession yr in his second season in Jacksonville, logging profession highs in total tackles (116), passes defensed (12), and compelled fumbles (3) while matching a profession high with three interceptions, certainly one of which he returned 52 yards for a touchdown.
Jacksonville released Jenkins from his contract a yr before it will’ve expired, and he signed a two-year, $12MM contract with the Seahawks. Seattle, too, cut Jenkins before he could play out the ultimate yr of his deal, and he landed with the Browns last yr, coming off the bench behind Ronnie Hickman and Grant Delpit.
Drafted a yr after Jenkins, Whitehead worked his way right into a starting lineup with the Buccaneers far quicker than Jenkins. Though he began his rookie yr working totally on special teams, a knee injury to then-starter Chris Conte opened the door for Whitehead to work with the first-team defense. He’s began every game he’s played in since that day. Whitehead was a really consistent contributor during his time in Tampa Bay, showing up all around the stat sheet with five interceptions, 25 passes defensed, and 22 tackles for loss over the course of his rookie deal.
As a free agent, Whitehead landed with the Jets on a two-year, $14.5MM contract and delivered two years of his best ball. In 34 starts, he logged six interceptions, 17 passes defensed, and his two highest tackle totals to this point. Despite having a profession yr before one other bout with free agency, Whitehead’s next contract was a lesser two-year, $9MM deal to return to Tampa Bay. In his first yr back with the Bucs, Whitehead worked his way back from a four-game absence to play within the team’s penultimate game of the 2024 season before suffering injuries in a automotive accident that warranted placement on the reserve/non-football injury list.
As Whitehead is working his way back to a roster, he’s drawn interest from plenty of teams, though no contract offers have resulted from that interest. The Steelers signed former Bears safety Jaquan Brisker in free agency and welcome back DeShon Elliott after he missed most of last yr. Veteran Darnell Savage brings numerous starting experience to the room as well, but behind those three, only undrafted assets fill out the room. The Steelers clearly have an interest in exploring depth at safety, and Jenkins and Whitehead appear to have gotten the primary auditions.