Steelers Swap Safeties: Rayshawn Jenkins In, Darnell Savage Out
Pittsburgh signs veteran safety Rayshawn Jenkins, who logged 45 tackles and a pick in 17 games last year, and cuts Darnell Savage after two months.
Depth safety with low fantasy ceiling; IDP-only until a starting role is clear.
- Jenkins: 45 tackles, 1 INT in 17 games in 2025
- Career: 562 tackles, 11 INTs, 34 PDs, 139 games
- Savage played 3 teams in 2025: JAX, WAS, BUF
- Savage signed with Pittsburgh June 2, cut Aug 3
- Jenkins: 92 career starts since 2017 draft
The Steelers reshuffled their safety room Monday, signing veteran Rayshawn Jenkins and cutting Darnell Savage in the same breath. Savage had been in Pittsburgh all of two months — he inked his deal June 2 and never made it out of the summer.
Jenkins brings real mileage to the back end. In 17 games with the Browns last season (2025), he posted 45 tackles, 19 of them solo, plus an interception, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. Across nine NFL seasons he's stacked 562 tackles, 11 picks, 34 passes defensed and 5.5 sacks over 139 games, 92 of them starts.
The 2017 fourth-round Chargers pick has become something of a journeyman lately, cycling through Jacksonville, Seattle and Cleveland since 2021. That's the profile of a reliable depth body who can start in a pinch, not a splash signing. For a Steelers secondary that values steadiness, that fits.
Savage, meanwhile, couldn't find a home in 2025. He bounced between the Jaguars (two games), Washington (eight) and Buffalo (two) before landing in Pittsburgh, and now he's back on the market. It's a steep fall for a guy who started 13 games for Jacksonville in 2024 and opened his career with five seasons in Green Bay.
The Fantasy Fallout
In redraft leagues, neither name moves the needle — safeties rarely do unless they're piling up tackles as a full-time starter. Jenkins matters only in deep IDP formats, and even there his upside hinges on whether he wins meaningful snaps or settles into a rotational role behind Pittsburgh's incumbents.
Bottom line: WATCH Jenkins if you're in an IDP league that rewards volume. His 45-tackle floor from 2025 isn't exciting, but a bump in playing time could make him a streaming option. Savage is a drop everywhere — until he signs somewhere with a clear path to snaps, there's nothing to chase here.
