The Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns virtually traded safeties this offseason, as the former Steeler Damontae Kazee signed a free agent deal in Cleveland and Pittsburgh signed former Brown Juan Thornhill.
Who got the better deal as Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns virtually traded safeties this offseason, as the former Steeler Damontae Kazee signed a free agent deal in Cleveland and Pittsburgh signed former Brown Juan Thornhill?
Time will tell.
Thornhill joins a pretty stout safety room that includes Minkah Fitzpatrick and DeShon Elliott after inking a one-year, $3 million deal with the hopes of earning more with a great performance in 2025.
The former Virginia Cavalier spent two seasons in Cleveland and tallied 103 tackles with 72 solo and one for loss, along with four passes defended in 22 games, all starts.
Before that, Thornhill spent four seasons in Kansas City, where he was part of two Super Bowl championships, starting 52 of 65 contests with 234 total tackles with 161 solo and five for loss with one sack and four QB hits.
When Thornhill signed with the Steelers, coach Mike Tomlin discussed how he would fit in the safety room with Fitzpatrick and Elliott.
“We’re gonna certainly mix that up. In today’s game, you need a three-safety structured defense for multiple tight end sets and situational play. All of those guys are really versatile,” Tomlin said. “We’re very familiar with Juan and his talents because we’ve competed against him. So, that’s gonna be a fun endeavor to figure out how to divide the labor up and that certainly will change from time to time.
“We expect those guys to be interchangeable pieces and really provide a challenge for the offenses that we compete against.”
Thornhill is nothing if not versatile. As Steelers Depot points out, “Thornhill has played 3,079 snaps at free safety, 802 in the box and 639 in the slot across 4,657 total NFL snaps.”
That’s probably why the same outlet described Thornhill as the team’s “biggest free agent Wild Card” heading into next season.
“When you look at Thornhill’s career to date, his signing makes him arguably the team’s biggest free agent wild card heading into the 2025 season. Thornhill comes to Pittsburgh after a two-year stint with the Cleveland Browns that was lackluster, at best.”
