DeShon Elliott sparked a conversation about his possible return for the 2025 playoffs with an Instagram post of him in full uniform with the caption “TBC” (usually an acronym standing for “to be continued”). Could the Steelers soon open his 21-day practice window to potentially return from IR?

Pat McAfee Show’s Steelers beat writer Mark Kaboly shared some information on his injury situation via 93.7 The Fan’s Pomp and Joe Show Wednesday afternoon.

“I saw him a couple weeks ago at the facility. He ducked back into the locker room. So I don’t know. I’ve seen him around every once in a while,” Kaboly said.

“He was there yesterday, I saw him too,” Bob Pompeani added. “I don’t know what the condition of his injury is.”

According to Kaboly, there were conflicting opinions in the building about whether Elliott would be able to return this season.

“The doctors thought he had a chance to come back, but the Steelers’ coaching staff and people didn’t think that that was possible,” he said.

Elliott was not expected back after getting hurt against the Green Bay Packers in Week 8 on Oct. 26. The specific details of his knee injury weren’t reported, but he went down and immediately grabbed at his knee in pain after an awkward play tackling TE Tucker Kraft down the field.

Last we heard, directly from Elliott, he was two weeks away from getting off the crutches and getting back to training. That was in late November. It’s been a little over a month since then. He even said at the time that he would be ready for 2026, making it seem like he was done for the season.

Even if the Steelers open his 21-day window that doesn’t mean Elliott is likely to return. They would basically have up until the week before the Super Bowl to make a decision if they made it that far. Reading between the lines of his Instagram post, he might be further along than anticipated but still may be a week or two out from full contact, and then there’s the matter of getting back in football shape.

Kyle Dugger and Jalen Ramsey looked like a formidable tandem at safety after weeks of subpar play from Juan Thornhill and Chuck Clark, but that has tailed off in recent weeks. Dugger wasn’t even on the field for the Ravens’ last drive that ended in Tyler Loop’s missed field goal. Is that a sign of the Steelers being displeased with his play? Our Alex Kozora broke down the Steelers’ current safety problem.

Getting DeShon Elliott back would be a huge boost to the Steelers’ back end if he’s able to get cleared and round back into football shape in time. He told the media in November that he was pushing himself and working hard in rehab. Without knowing the full extent of his injury, it’s hard to say. But crazier things have happened.

Perhaps we get some news later today from the Steelers’ first practice of the week.