{"id":53468,"date":"2025-06-05T03:00:57","date_gmt":"2025-06-05T03:00:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=53468"},"modified":"2025-06-05T03:00:57","modified_gmt":"2025-06-05T03:00:57","slug":"breaking-former-athletic-versatile-safety-prospect-announces-signing-with-steelers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=53468","title":{"rendered":"BREAKING: Former Athletic, Versatile Safety Prospect Announces Signing With Steelers.."},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"post-featured-container-id\">\n<div id=\"post-featured\" class=\"wp-caption \">\n<div class=\"h-responsive\">\n<figure class=\"h-responsive__inner\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"attachment-featured-image size-featured-image wp-post-image\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/GettyImages-2170851773-3.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 820px) 95vw, 780px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/GettyImages-2170851773-3.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780 780w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/GettyImages-2170851773-3.jpg?quality=15&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1100 1100w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/GettyImages-2170851773-3.jpg?quality=35&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1350 1350w\" alt=\"Mike Tomlin Quindell Johnson\" width=\"780\" height=\"439\" data-dom-ready-time=\"930\" data-img-load-time=\"1561\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"caption-credit\">Getty<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"c-post-image-caption-text\">Safety Quindell Johnson announced signing with Mike Tomlin and the Pittsburgh Steelers on Wednesday.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The\u00a0Pittsburgh Steelers\u00a0are signing a new safety in\u00a0Quindell Johnson. The safety\u2019s representatives shared on social media Wednesday that he is agreeing to a deal with Pittsburgh.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCongratulations to Quindell Johnson on agreeing to terms with the Steelers,\u201d tweeted Universal Sports Management.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"style_1y6if9u-o_O-style_6s3kpz\">\n<div>\n<div class=\"twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered\"><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-0\" class=\"optanon-category-C0004 ot-vscat-C0004 \" title=\"X B\u00e0i vi\u1ebft\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1930304354705166604&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.si.com%2Fnfl%2Fsteelers%2Fnews%2Fpittsburgh-steelers-sign-former-bears-quindell-johnson&amp;sessionId=855c23ffc7e2273edb11b5fa09fd608c94a013b7&amp;siteScreenName=AllSteelersFN&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&amp;width=550px\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-tweet-id=\"1930304354705166604\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Johnson began his NFL career with the\u00a0Los Angeles Rams\u00a0as an undrafted free agent following the 2023 NFL Draft.\u00a0Johnson never played\u00a0for the Rams, though, as he joined the\u00a0Chicago Bears following the league\u2019s roster cutdown day in August 2023.<\/p>\n<p>The safety appeared\u00a0in nine games for the Bears during 2023. Last season, Johnson returned to the Rams, spending the season on the team\u2019s practice squad.<\/p>\n<p>He signed a futures deal with the\u00a0San Francisco 49ers\u00a0this offseason. San Francisco waived Johnson on May 13.<\/p>\n<p>Before going undrafted,\u00a0NFL.com\u2019s Lance Zierlein projected Johnson as a fifth-round pick.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cVersatile safety prospect with the instincts, toughness and athletic attributes to play for a unit featuring scheme variance. Johnson has adequate NFL size and plays with clean hips and footwork in space,\u201d\u00a0Zierlein wrote. \u201cHe\u2019s capable of playing high safety or lining up over bigger slot receivers but could be overmatched if asked to carry speedsters around the field. He\u2019s a heads-up run defender ready to mix it up but needs to balance his urgency with better control when it\u2019s time to break down and tackle.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJohnson is a capable backup safety and might have the ability to step into a more prominent role in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Steelers Adding Safety Quindell Johnson<\/h2>\n<p>With Johnson, the Steelers are adding a safety that formerly had the potential to develop into a roster contributor.<\/p>\n<p>During his NFL debut with the Bears in Week 2 of 2023,\u00a0Johnson played 28 defensive snaps. The safety, though, lined up for just seven defensive snaps the rest of the season.<\/p>\n<p>In that small sample, Johnson posted one pass defense and one interception.<\/p>\n<p>The safety mostly played on special teams for the Bears. From Weeks 2-10, he averaged 11.8 special teams snaps per game.<\/p>\n<p>During the final seven contests of the 2023 season, though, Chicago left Johnson inactive. He hasn\u2019t appeared in an NFL game since then. In nine games during 2023, he posted three combined tackles.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Steelers Address Safety Depth<\/h2>\n<p>With the addition of Johnson, the Steelers are adding a sixth safety to their roster. The team already has veterans\u00a0Minkah Fitzpatrick,\u00a0DeShon Elliott,\u00a0Miles Killebrew\u00a0and\u00a0Juan Thornhill\u00a0on its roster.\u00a0The Steelers also signed\u00a0undrafted rookie\u00a0Sebastian Castro\u00a0this offseason after 2024 draft pick\u00a0Ryan Watts was forced to retire.<\/p>\n<p>Fitzpatrick and Elliott are projected to start as they did in 2024. One of the big questions around the Steelers defense is whether Fitzpatrick can return to his All-Pro form. Although he made his fifth Pro Bowl last season,\u00a0Fitzpatrick hasn\u2019t been a member of the league\u2019s All-Pro team since 2022.<\/p>\n<p>Over the last two years, Fitzpatrick has just one interception.<\/p>\n<p>Killebrew has made the Pro Bowl each of the past two seasons, but that was for his special teams contributions.\u00a0Killebrew played\u00a0nine defensive snaps last season.<\/p>\n<p>Thornhill is entering his first summer with the Steelers.\u00a0He won\u00a0two Super Bowls with the\u00a0Kansas City Chiefs\u00a0and played for the\u00a0Cleveland Browns\u00a0the past two years.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"tagStyle_16dbupz-o_O-style_mxvz7o-o_O-style_12bse5w-o_O-style_6s3kpz\" data-mm-id=\"_zxu3ypz3l\">\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Getty Safety Quindell Johnson announced signing with Mike Tomlin and the Pittsburgh Steelers on Wednesday. The\u00a0Pittsburgh Steelers\u00a0are signing a new safety in\u00a0Quindell Johnson. The safety\u2019s representatives shared&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":53469,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-53468","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>BREAKING: Former Athletic, Versatile Safety Prospect Announces Signing With Steelers.. - 24\/7 News America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=53468\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"BREAKING: Former Athletic, Versatile Safety Prospect Announces Signing With Steelers.. - 24\/7 News America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Getty Safety Quindell Johnson announced signing with Mike Tomlin and the Pittsburgh Steelers on Wednesday. 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