Steelers Make Final Call on DeShon Elliott for Week 7 After Unexpected Absence
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Pittsburgh Steelers safety DeShon Elliott will play in Week 7 against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Veteran safety DeShon Elliott didn’t travel with the Pittsburgh Steelers to Cincinnati on Wednesday. On the team’s official injury report, the Steelers called Elliott questionable because of a personal matter.
But Elliott arrived in Cincinnati on Thursday. An hour and a half before the game, the Steelers didn’t include the safety on their inactive list for Week 7.
The Steelers will face the Cincinnati Bengals in a pivotal AFC North showdown on
Elliott dressing shouldn’t come as a major surprise. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported Thursday afternoon that Elliott arrived in Cincinnati and was expected to play.
#Steelers safety DeShon Elliott has arrived in Cincinnati and is expected to play vs. the #Bengals. He was dealing with a personal issue.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 16, 2025
Elliott has started three of Pittsburgh’s previous five games this season. In the two games he didn’t start, Elliott didn’t play because of a knee injury.
The safety has posted 24 combined tackles, including one tackle for loss with two quarterback hits this season. He also has one forced fumble, one interception and one sack.
DeShon Elliott Will Play Against Bengals on Thursday Night
The other reason why Elliott playing shouldn’t come as a surprise is a late move the Steelers made Thursday. Hours ahead of the game, the team switched Elliott’s status on the injury report from questionable to no designation.
Elliott is the only Steelers player who didn’t participate in Wednesday’s practice but is playing in Week 7. Austin and safety Miles Killebrew also didn’t practice, but they were already officially out for Thursday’s contest.
The Steelers placed Killebrew on injured reserve Thursday afternoon.
Elliott, though, didn’t miss a thorough practice session, as the Steelers held just a walk-through Wednesday.
With Elliott in the lineup, the Steelers will have their full arsenal of defensive backs. Elliott and Joey Porter Jr. dealt with injuries in September. The Week 6 matchup against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday was the first game where Elliott and Porter finished the contest healthy along with veteran defensive backs Jalen Ramsey and Darius Slay.
That secondary will face veteran quarterback and former Super Bowl MVP Joe Flacco on Thursday. Flacco will be making his second start for the Bengals. Cincinnati acquired him from the Browns just nine days ago.
Edge Rusher Trey Hendrickson Out for Bengals in Week 7
The Steelers caught a break with Elliott being able to rejoin the team in time to play. They also won’t have to face Cincinnati’s best defender Thursday.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported Thursday afternoon defensive end Trey Hendrickson wouldn’t play in Week 7 because of a back ailment. The Bengals confirmed that report, including Hendrickson on their inactive list.
Bengals DE Trey Hendrickson (questionable, back) is expected to be out tonight vs. Steelers, per source. Wanted to play but tough on short turnaround, hopeful for next week.
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) October 16, 2025
Cincinnati has Hendrickson, along with five other players, inactive for Thursday’s contest.
The Steelers still have young offensive tackles. But they are coming off a game where they did an incredible job minimizing All-Pro Myles Garrett. So, they should be feeling pretty good about themselves entering Thursday.
Without Hendrickson, it could be much harder for the Bengals to generate a pass rush. Hendrickson has recorded four of Cincinnati’s 11 sacks this season.
If the Steelers can defeat the Bengals, they will increase their already decent lead in the AFC North race. There’s still plenty of football remaining. But with a win, the Steelers will have a four-game lead in the loss column over all three of their division rivals.
However, if the Bengals are victorious, Pittsburgh’s lead in the division will shrink to two games in the loss column.
The Bengals won the last matchup in the rivalry during Week 18 last season. But the Steelers have captured three straight victories in Cincinnati.
Ravens Legend Ray Lewis Urges NFL to Investigate Referees After Steelers’ Controversial Loss to Bengals: “They Got Robbed, and the League Can’t Ignore This.”
Cincinnati, OH – October 14, 2025 — Even the fiercest rival the Pittsburgh Steelers have ever known couldn’t stay silent after what unfolded on Thursday Night Football. Ravens Hall of Famer
Ray Lewis — the face of Baltimore’s defensive legacy — has broken his silence following the Steelers’ heartbreaking 31–33 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, calling for an official NFL investigation into what he labeled
“a disgrace to the game.”
“No one wanted the Steelers to lose more than I did — but not like this,” Lewis said. “The Steelers got robbed, and everyone who watched that game knows it. Those calls weren’t just wrong — they stole what this team fought for.”
His words echoed across the league, igniting an instant storm online as fans and analysts questioned the officiating that tilted momentum in Cincinnati’s favor. Two pivotal calls have since drawn heavy scrutiny — both shifting the outcome of one of the AFC North’s most heated battles.
With 2:52 left in the fourth quarter, quarterback Aaron Rodgers launched a deep pass toward DK Metcalf that was intercepted by Bengals corner Jordan Battle. Replays revealed the throw sailed inches beyond Metcalf’s fingertips before contact, appearing
uncatchable. Despite the magnitude of the play, referees refused to initiate a review, handing Cincinnati possession that led to the game-winning field goal.
Aaron Rodgers has ~words~ for the officials after this is ruled an INT
pic.twitter.com/vFav3z5qm6 — Jori Epstein (@JoriEpstein) October 17, 2025
The moment sparked outrage across X under the trending tag #RiggedTNF, with analysts calling it one of the season’s biggest officiating failures.
“That’s a play that changes standings, playoff implications, and locker rooms,” said former ref analyst Terry McAulay. “If that’s not reviewed, what is?”
Earlier, a questionable holding call on center
Zach Frazier in the third quarter erased a key conversion and killed a promising Steelers drive. On film, Frazier appeared to anchor perfectly — no grab, no twist, no pull — yet the 10-yard penalty forced a punt.
“That call was soft,” wrote ESPN’s Mina Kimes. “You can’t penalize clean blocking in that moment.”
Even Bengals fans admitted online that something felt off, noting the 11–4 penalty imbalance
that consistently pushed Pittsburgh backward. And while Cincinnati celebrated, Ray Lewis’ unexpected defense of his long-time rival stole the postgame spotlight.
“You don’t have to wear black and gold to see what happened,”
he said. “You don’t cheat the game to win it. If the NFL ignores this, then the message is clear — fairness is optional.”
The league has yet to release any official statement on the officiating controversy, but pressure is mounting for the NFL’s competition committee to review the tape.
As Lewis concluded, “The Bengals got the win. The Steelers got robbed. But what really lost tonight — was the integrity of football itself.”
