Steelers LB Jayrone Elliott (1.3.21)

Steelers LB Jayrone Elliott:

On if it was strange to not have the typical Steelers defensive leaders on the field:

“It was not strange at all. It is always next man up. That is the standard here. Whoever takes the field, we have to take the field no matter who the guys are. We knew we were going to have a workload today, and that is what we asked for. We didn’t get the job done, but kudos to those guys. Just being a kid from Cleveland, I know what this means to the City of Cleveland so congratulations to them. We didn’t get the job done at the end of the day, and we have work to do.”

On the biggest takeaways from today knowing that they face the Browns next week:

“I think it gives confidence for the younger guys who got a chance to finally get on the field and show their talents to the NFL. All of us getting more reps, it will just continue to help us build as a team. We have film to look at and correct, and we are ready to get back to work.”

On his personal takeaways from this game:

“Honestly, this was my Christmas, just being from Cleveland, being out of the NFL for a couple of years and having the chance to get back here and having a chance to play in my hometown in front of my friends and my family. To see how this game came down to it and to know what it means to the city, I’m a little upset that we lost, but I understand what is going on with the whole team and the City of Cleveland. Once again, congratulations to the City of Cleveland, but here in Pittsburgh, we have some work to do.”

On the mindset when the team is down and without starters and who leads the charge when the usual leaders aren’t on the sideline:

“(Steelers RB) Benny (Snell, Jr.) was doing a great job leading us. Everybody was just trying to rally behind each other. (Steelers QB) Mason (Rudolph) is our quarterback so we were just trying to pick Mason up and keep him going. We don’t really point out leaders here. Everybody is just trying to lead in their own way. Whoever has the hot hand or whoever has the momentum going on the sideline, we just follow them. We pick each other up, no matter what’s going on – win, lose, or draw. We will keep it going, but we will get back to work.”

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