New Steelers Defender Opens Up About Embarrassing Moment

Pittsburgh Steelers' safety Juan Thornhill is already turning heads with his new team. A standout during the recently completed minicamp, the secondary appears to have another quality member in its ranks. The versatile 29-year-old can hopefully fill a variety of roles on defense.

While the Steelers are looking forward with Thornhill, there's a moment from his past he's still looking to escape. As a member of the Cleveland Browns for the past two seasons, one play produced a nickname and reputation he's shedding in Pittsburgh. During a 2024 matchup against the New Orleans Saints, Thornhill was called out for not giving full effort during a Saints scoring play. The moment earned him the nickname "Jog Thornton" among his detractors and falsely created a narrative that he was a lazy player. Speaking to Pittsburgh DSEN, he opened up about how that moment impacted him.

"It did bother me, if I'm being completely honest with you," he told reporters. "The reason why is because that's not me as a player. And they saw that one clip of me and they put that as a title on me as a player that doesn't player hard for his team."

Now with the Steelers, his early performance is showing how hard of a worker he is. He showed off several explosive plays and pass deflections over the three days of minicamp.

"I'm always gonna play hard," he said. "I do whatever's best for the team."

That's exactly what his new team has seen so far. The Steelers were never worried about it, evidenced by his $3 million deal to join Pittsburgh. But hearing firsthand what Thornhill went through and how motivated he is to dispel that notion, it's setting up a breakout opportunity for the newest member of the Steelers' secondary.