Former Athletic, Versatile Safety Prospect Announces Signing With Steelers

The Pittsburgh Steelers are signing a new safety in Quindell Johnson. The safety’s representatives shared on social media Wednesday that he is agreeing to a deal with Pittsburgh.

“Congratulations to Quindell Johnson on agreeing to terms with the Steelers,” tweeted Universal Sports Management.

Johnson began his NFL career with the Los Angeles Rams as an undrafted free agent following the 2023 NFL Draft. Johnson never played for the Rams, though, as he joined the Chicago Bears following the league’s roster cutdown day in August 2023.

The safety appeared in nine games for the Bears during 2023. Last season, Johnson returned to the Rams, spending the season on the team’s practice squad.

He signed a futures deal with the San Francisco 49ers this offseason. San Francisco waived Johnson on May 13.

Before going undrafted, NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein projected Johnson as a fifth-round pick.

“Versatile 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,” Zierlein wrote. “He’s 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’s a heads-up run defender ready to mix it up but needs to balance his urgency with better control when it’s time to break down and tackle.

“Johnson is a capable backup safety and might have the ability to step into a more prominent role in the future.”

Steelers Adding Safety Quindell Johnson

With Johnson, the Steelers are adding a safety that formerly had the potential to develop into a roster contributor.

During his NFL debut with the Bears in Week 2 of 2023, Johnson played 28 defensive snaps. The safety, though, lined up for just seven defensive snaps the rest of the season.

In that small sample, Johnson posted one pass defense and one interception.

The safety mostly played on special teams for the Bears. From Weeks 2-10, he averaged 11.8 special teams snaps per game.

During the final seven contests of the 2023 season, though, Chicago left Johnson inactive. He hasn’t appeared in an NFL game since then. In nine games during 2023, he posted three combined tackles.

Steelers Address Safety Depth

With the addition of Johnson, the Steelers are adding a sixth safety to their roster. The team already has veterans Minkah Fitzpatrick, DeShon Elliott, Miles Killebrew and Juan Thornhill on its roster. The Steelers also signed undrafted rookie Sebastian Castro this offseason after 2024 draft pick Ryan Watts was forced to retire.

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, Fitzpatrick hasn’t been a member of the league’s All-Pro team since 2022.

Over the last two years, Fitzpatrick has just one interception.

Killebrew has made the Pro Bowl each of the past two seasons, but that was for his special teams contributions. Killebrew played nine defensive snaps last season.

Thornhill is entering his first summer with the Steelers. He won two Super Bowls with the Kansas City Chiefs and played for the Cleveland Browns the past two years.