Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Brandin Echols (26) tackles Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Dyami Brown (5) during the first half of the first preseason game where the Jacksonville Jaguars hosted the Pittsburgh Steelers Saturday Aug. 9, 2025, at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. [Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union] Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Third Steelers CB Injured Against Vikings

Originally posted on Pittsburgh Steelers on SI
By Jack Markowski | Last updated Sep 28, 2025 5:00 PM ET

Injuries have become an unfortunate theme of the Pittsburgh Steelers' season thus far, and that continued in their Week 4 win over the Minnesota Vikings at Croke Park in Dublin, Ireland.

At the start of Minnesota's penultimate drive, cornerback Brandin Echols went down on the field and was attended to by Pittsburgh's medical staff before eventually walking off under his own power.

On the very next play, Carson Wentz found Jordan Addison for an 81-yard completion on busted coverage from the Steelers. The Vikings would go on to score a touchdown just ahead of the two-minute warning to make it 24-21, but it wasn't enough to complete the comeback even after getting the ball back.

Echols took on a heavy workload for the second consecutive week with Joey Porter Jr. remaining out due to a hamstring injury. Before departing, the 27-year-old had logged three tackles over 54 defensive snaps while allowing two receptions for 23 yards on three targets in coverage, per Pro Football Focus.

Paul Rutherford-Imagn Images

Both of the Steelers' other starting corners in Jalen Ramsey and Darius Slay Jr. also sustained injuries against the Vikings, though both made their way back onto the field shortly after being pulled.

Echols was not a major component of Pittsburgh's defense over the first two weeks of the campaign, playing a combined 33 snaps on that side of the ball over that span, but he came away with an interception and made a game-winning tackle on DeMario Douglas in the team's Week 3 victory over the New England Patriots.

A sixth-round pick out of Kentucky in the 2021 NFL Draft by the New York Jets, Echols spent the first four seasons of his career with the franchise before signing a two-year deal worth $6 million with the Steelers as a free agent this past March. During that time, he recorded 122 tackles and five interceptions across 57 games while making 19 starts.

The details surrounding Echols' injury are still unknown, though more information should come to light postgame.

With the Steelers' cornerback room banged up across the board, the team's bye week couldn't come at a more perfect time in that regard. The hope is that the position group can get back to full health once they face off against the Cleveland Browns in Week 6.

This article first appeared on Pittsburgh Steelers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: