This offseason, a division foe signed a first-round pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2019 NFL Draft. Terrell Edmunds, a safety selected in the first round by Pittsburgh the previous year, joined a former division rival on May 16.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Network revealed on X (formerly Twitter) that Edmunds agreed to a deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Rapoport stated, “The Jaguars have added a few veterans before OTAs, signing LB and special teamer Ty Summers, along with DBs Terrell Edmunds and Tre Flowers.”
After being selected by the Steelers at No. 28 overall in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft, Edmunds played his first five years of professional football for them. Edmunds totaled 410 tackles in 79 games with Pittsburgh, including 6 interceptions and 15 tackles for loss.
The Jaguars will be Edmunds’ third team since departing the Steelers in free agency a year ago, despite the fact that he hasn’t played for an AFC North team previously. Edmunds is a native of Pittsburgh. Edmunds played in games for the Tennessee Titans and Philadelphia Eagles in the previous season.
From 1995 until 2001, the Jaguars and the Steelers were division rivals. Since then, the two teams have faced off in two postseason games, with Jacksonville winning both times.
With their several arrivals on May 16, the Jaguars strengthened their special teams and secondary. Edmunds may challenge Andrew Wingard and Antonio Johnson for a deep safety position.
That might result in an intriguing dynamic. Edmunds may not be all that loyal to the team that selected him six years prior, but during the Steelers-Pelicans game last October, Wingard showed disrespect for the team by throwing down the Terrible Towel during a celebration.
But the last laugh went to the Steelers. Due to a loss to the already-eliminated Titans in Week 18, the Jaguars concluded the season with a 3-6 record and were not eligible for the playoffs. Following the Jaguars loss, the Steelers went on to secure the last AFC playoff berth.
Edmunds might have a role on Jacksonville’s special teams in addition to safety. He played 217 special teams snaps for the Titans and Eagles in 2023. Edmunds had not scored so much since his freshman season.
In 2023, Edmunds made 16 appearances in games. He started four of those games and totaled 48 tackles, including two quarterback hits and two tackles for loss. He also had one forced fumble, one interception, and two pass defenses.
Edmunds never finished a season with fewer than 68 total tackles while playing for the Steelers. But in 2023, he only played 476 defensive snaps, which is a career low. Edmunds played defense for at least 864 snaps in each of his five seasons with Pittsburgh.
Several former first-round picks of the Steelers were available for free this offseason. Devin Bush, a first-round pick in 2019 who signed with the Cleveland Browns, and Bud Dupree, a free agent from 2015 who signed a two-year contract with the Los Angeles Chargers, were also former first-round picks of the Steelers.
This offseason, there was little discussion about the likelihood of an Edmunds-Steelers matchup. However, adding safety depth with a Pittsburgh signing is likely still on the table.
In March, the Steelers fired Keanu Neal and replaced him with veteran safety DeShon Elliott. However, safety injuries devastated Pittsburgh in the latter half of the 2023 campaign, so it wouldn’t be shocking if the team added more insurance to the secondary this summer.
Pittsburgh will not play in the regular season or preseason of 2024 against Jacksonville. However, Bush and the Browns and Dupree and the Chargers will play twice for the Steelers.
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