Jalen Ramsey has found 'renewed energy' playing safety for Steelers

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A three-time All-Pro at cornerback, Jalen Ramsey made a switch to safety for the injury-stricken Steelers ahead of Week 9.

For at least one game, the move worked wonders, as Pittsburgh’s defense confounded the Colts in a 27-20 victory, forcing five turnovers while holding the league’s No. 1 scoring offense to its fewest points on the season.

Coach Mike Tomlin said this week ahead of a Sunday Night Football showdown with the Los Angeles Chargers that Ramsey will continue working exclusively at safety for now. The 10th-year defensive back is not just game for the challenge, but reinvigorated.

“I guess you could say it brings a renewed energy for me because playing corner for 10 years, you kind of learn the game and it kind of becomes same old, same old, same old every day,” Ramsey said, per the team website. “Not saying that I wasn’t learning or wasn’t trying to continue to grow that role. At safety, now I’m in the meetings and things. I’m learning new things to look at, different ways to look at the game from the safety’s point of view. But it’s been cool.”

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Ramsey came to Pittsburgh through an offseason trade with the Dolphins that involved another versatile cover man, safety Minkah Fitzpatrick.

The Steelers valued Ramsey’s similar ability to line up anywhere in the secondary, though he noted this week he’s never played a full NFL game anywhere but corner.

Thanks to injuries to players such as DeShon Elliott and Jabrill Peppers, Ramsey roaming the back end in a more full-time capacity became necessary for Pittsburgh.

Before last week’s contest, Ramsey had played 47 snaps at free safety for the Steelers, per PFF. Against the Colts, he logged 55. His stat line wasn’t eye-popping by any means — he logged five tackles — but the overall results were very much needed.

A defense that had seemingly fallen apart in two straight losses to the Packers and Bengals held firm against an offense that had been lighting up the league. After failing to force a takeaway since Week 4, the Steelers defense collected five (with another on special teams to boot).

Provided another week of acclimating to playing free safety following a 13-year gap since he primarily lined up there, it’s also reasonable to expect a pro of Ramsey’s quality to improve in his next crack at manning the position.

“It’s definitely new, for sure. Before last week, the last time I played safety for a full game was my freshman year in college,” Ramsey said. “So, however many years ago that was, 13 or something like that. So, it’s been a while.

“It’s definitely not like riding a bike. Tough, but fun. I love football. All pieces of it I enjoy and try to embrace.”

And there won’t be any training wheels available going up against a thrower of Justin Herbert‘s quality.

The Chargers have morphed into a pass-first offense in 2025, with countless options to wear a defense thin in Ladd McConkey, Keenan Allen, Quentin Johnston and Oronde Gadsden II.

It’s by no means a certainty the Steelers defense is back after one good outing and one passed test with Ramsey at safety.

Should Pittsburgh slow a second straight offensive powerhouse, however, the pendulum will certainly be swinging that direction.

“We’ll continue working,” Ramsey said. “I won’t say one game will change everything, all of that. But we’ll just continue working.”

The Steelers take on the Chargers at 8:20 p.m. ET on Sunday.

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