Steelers signing former Gateway, Penn State safety Jaquan Brisker

The Pittsburgh Steelers’ newest free agent addition was hungering for some hometown pizza.

Jaquan Brisker soon can order it whenever he wants. A Gateway and Penn State alum who played the past four seasons for the Chicago Bears, Brisker agreed to a one-year contract with the Steelers, according to a source.

“I need some Mineo’s like ASAP,” Brisker wrote Thursday night on social media.

Brisker, who turns 27 next month, started in all 52 games he played with the Bears including 17 last season. He fills a position of need for the Steelers because safeties Kyle Dugger, Chuck Clark, Jabrill Peppers and Miles Killebrew became unrestricted free agents this week. Killebrew signed Thursday with Tampa Bay.

The Steelers return safety DeShon Elliott, who started five games last year before suffering a season-ending injury. Jalen Ramsey, who also returns, shifted from cornerback to safety in Elliott’s absence.

A second-round draft pick in 2022, Brisker has four career interceptions, 342 tackles, seven sacks and four forced fumbles. Considered a solid run defender, the 6-foot-1, 204-pound defensive back was drafted 48th overall.

His one-year deal is worth $5.5 million, according to NFL Network.

Known for a physical style, Brisker became an immediate starter for the Bears. He earned all-rookie team honors from Pro Football Focus after starting 15 games and making 104 tackles. He followed that with a career-high 105 tackles in his second season.

A concussion sidelined him for the final 12 games of the 2024 season, but Brisker returned last year and finished second on the Bears with 93 tackles. He had one interception and eight pass defenses.

Brisker made seven tackles in the Bears’ 31-28 win over the Steelers last November at Soldier Field.

In high school, Brisker was an all-conference football player for Gateway as a junior and senior. He was a multi-sport athlete who also earned all-section honors in basketball for the Gators.

His path to the NFL took him first to Lackawanna Community College, where he emerged as one of the top junior college safeties. He was named Northeast Football Conference Defensive Player of the Year in 2018.

He drew FBS offers from several SEC schools including Alabama but chose Penn State. In three seasons with the Nittany Lions, Brisker earned All-American honors including a second-team pick by the Associated Press in 2021.

Brisker started his NFL career in the Midwest, but he maintained his Western Pennsylvania roots by hosting a free youth football camp each summer.