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Steelers bring Elandon Roberts back for a Monday visit six weeks after cutting him

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The veteran inside linebacker, released at final cuts in August, could return to Pittsburgh on the practice squad, though a signing has not been confirmed.

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Elandon Roberts in a 2017 archive photograph.
Elandon Roberts in 2017 (archive photo). Photo: Jeffrey Beall / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0.

The Pittsburgh Steelers hosted veteran inside linebacker Elandon Roberts for a visit on Monday, October 12, according to reports from Gerry Dulac and Brooke Pryor, opening the door to a third stint in Pittsburgh for a player the club released at final roster cuts on August 30.

Pryor reported that the workout could lead to a spot on the practice squad. Dulac said he could not yet say whether Roberts will be signed, and stressed that the visit is not tied to an injury among the team’s inside linebackers. One local report went further and said the Steelers intend to bring him back, but the club has announced nothing, and no terms or roster designation have been reported.

The timing follows a 34-22 home win over the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday that lifted Pittsburgh to 3-2. Patrick Queen and Payton Wilson have handled the inside linebacker snaps every week so far. Wilson led the defense against Indianapolis with 10 tackles, two of them for a loss, while Queen added seven. The group has been criticized for its tackling through five games, and Roberts would arrive already fluent in Patrick Graham’s defense.

A familiar face in the middle

Roberts, 32, knows the building well. He started for the Steelers in 2023, when he made 101 tackles with 2.5 sacks, and returned in 2024 for 46 tackles and a sack, adding 14 tackles in the wild-card loss at Baltimore. He spent 2025 with the Las Vegas Raiders on a one-year, $3 million contract and recorded 90 tackles in 17 games.

Pittsburgh brought him back on a one-year deal on August 13. He played 73 snaps across the second and third preseason games and made 10 tackles, but head coach Mike McCarthy called his release a question of roster fit. He has been a free agent since, with no other club linked to him.

A sixth-round pick of the New England Patriots in 2016 out of Houston, Roberts won two Super Bowls in four seasons there before three years with the Miami Dolphins.

What comes next

Any signing will appear on the transactions page. The Steelers visit the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, October 18, at 1 p.m. EDT; the schedule and roster are on the Steelers team page, and Sunday’s numbers are in the Colts-Steelers Game Center.

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