Player: S Jaquan Brisker<\/p>\n
Stock Value: Up<\/p>\n
Reasoning: Not only does Jaquan Brisker get to play for his hometown team, but he is also liking his more versatile role. Now in his fifth season in the NFL, he compared the way the Steelers intend to use him favorably to his time in Chicago. More to the point, it indicates they view him as an integral part of the defense, potentially beyond 2026.<\/p>\n
It would be a dream, I\u2019m sure, for Jaquan Brisker to play the remainder of his career starting for the Pittsburgh Steelers. The team he grew up around, grew up watching, grew up cheering for, he\u2019s now part of that lineage. While he is only on a one-year deal, he hopes to spend many more here before he hangs it up.<\/p>\n
Not just because it\u2019s Pittsburgh, but because of what the Steelers are letting him do. Jaquan Brisker talked about new DC Patrick Graham letting him play \u201cfree\u201d, saying what he\u2019s doing here is \u201cway different\u201d, in a good way, from what the Bears allowed him to do.<\/p>\n
Just last year, the Steelers gave Jalen Ramsey a much more versatile role than before. They did the same for Patrick Peterson before. Jaquan Brisker is much younger than both, just 27 years old, so one hopes he has a better time adjusting.<\/p>\n
Not that they\u2019ll be asking him to do anything crazy\u2014just the full breadth of his position. Brisker will still be a safety, but he\u2019ll also play in the slot, in the box, and on the edge. He\u2019ll do a little bit of everything\u2014sometimes multiple roles within a play.<\/p>\n
The important element is that it shows the Steelers believe in Jaquan Brisker. He\u2019s not just a one-year rental, even if he ends up being here for only one year. For the 2026 season, he is a full-fledged starter and key cog in this defense. Whatever happens beyond this season is up to him, the coaches, and the money men. And if he prices himself out of the Steelers\u2019 market in 2027, the money will be some consolation, I\u2019m sure.<\/p>\n
With the 2026 offseason well underway and many moves made, we have stock to take. Already promising\u00a0a year of change<\/a>, the Steelers are shaking things up. That is unavoidable, of course, when you gut the coaching staff. Mike Tomlin\u2019s resignation has fundamentally changed this football team, including the players on the roster.<\/p>\n