The Pittsburgh Steelers made a surprise signing on Wednesday night, bringing back LB Elandon Roberts on a one-year deal. Roberts played for the Steelers in 2023 and 2024, racking up 147 total tackles, 3.5 sacks, 15 tackles for a loss, two passes knocked down, and one forced fumble in 33 games.
The move also reunites Roberts with his defensive coordinator from last year, Patrick Graham. Roberts signed a one-year deal with the Las Vegas Raiders, playing in all 17 games and starting 16 in Graham’s defense. Roberts finished the season with 90 total tackles and six tackles for a loss.
So why did the Steelers sign Elandon Roberts right before their first preseason game? Steelers reporter Jeff Hathhorn has some thoughts on why and how it affects the Steelers’ roster.
“What it does is probably cement Malik Harrison’s exit from the Steelers,” Hathhorn said Thursday morning on 93.7 The Fan’s The Fan Morning Show. “I think Elandon’s a little better special-teams guy than Malik, but they’re the same linebacker. But here’s the thing to remember: Elandon loved Patrick Graham, and Patrick Graham loves Elandon. I think that played a huge factor… They really meshed together. I think Patrick Graham sees something that he doesn’t see in his defense right now, and he wants a piece of that.”
Now, when Elandon Roberts played for Pittsburgh in 2023 and 2024, he saw the field on defense at a higher clip (51 percent of the snaps in 2023, 44 percent in 2024 per Pro Football Reference) than Malik Harrison did in 2025 (25 percent). However, Harrison actually played more special-teams snaps in 2025 (35 percent) than Roberts did in either 2023 or 2024 (28 percent and 20 percent, respectively).
I think that actually drives home Hathhorn’s second point about the connection between Roberts and Patrick Graham. When the Raiders signed Roberts, Graham said he had always had his eye on Roberts from the time he was a rookie. Graham respected Roberts’ effort from afar, and Roberts played a pivotal role in Graham’s defense with the Raiders. He finished fourth on the team in tackles.
Plus, Roberts proved to still be a better run defender than the Steelers’ main inside linebacker options. He posted a 76.7 run defense grade from Pro Football Focus in 2025. That beat out Steelers linebackers Patrick Queen (56.0), Payton Wilson (54.2), and the aforementioned Malik Harrison (who was the best of the three at 60.4). Perhaps Patrick Graham saw what his linebackers were doing against the run and decided to ask general manager Omar Khan and company if they’d reach out to Elandon Roberts.
The Steelers certainly need to defend the run well against their divisional rivals, the Baltimore Ravens. Even if Elandon Roberts isn’t a starter in Pittsburgh, he can help against the Ravens and other run-heavy teams. Then you factor in his experience with Patrick Graham and the Steelers’ players, and the move makes sense.
The Steelers will need to figure out their logjam at middle linebacker, though. Obviously, Patrick Queen and Payton Wilson are the top players in Pittsburgh right now. Then there’s Cole Holcomb, Carson Bruener, and Malik Harrison. The Steelers re-signed Holcomb this offseason, and Bruener is cementing his status as a stalwart on the special teams units. So, it makes sense that Hathhorn would tab Harrison as the odd man out.
However, will the Steelers really keep five inside linebackers this season? Could more moves be coming? Only time will tell. What is for certain is that Elandon Roberts and Patrick Graham are big fans of each other. Now they’re back working together again, this time in Pittsburgh.
