Safety Miles Killebrew appeared to suffer a very serious injury against the Cleveland Browns in Week 6. But the Pittsburgh Steelers had yet to officially reveal the full scope of Killebrew’s ailment.
That is, until Tuesday when head coach Mike Tomlin confirmed what a lot of pundits speculated — Killebrew will miss the remainder of the 2025 NFL season.
“Miles is out for the season. Miles had knee surgery that was deemed a success, but certainly, he’s facing rehabilitation at this juncture,” Tomlin told reporters. “Our heart aches for Miles. Obviously, he’s a significant component of what we do, particularly in the special teams space.
“It’s never one man. It’s probably a collection of men to step up when you’re faced with a challenge like that.”
Killebrew suffered a knee injury while covering a punt on October 12. He needed assistance leaving the field and rode a cart into the locker room.
The Steelers placed Killebrew on injured reserve Thursday hours before facing the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 7.
Killebrew has been a special teams ace in Pittsburgh for several years. He made first-team All-Pro as a special teams player during the 2023 campaign. Killebrew came into 2025 also having made the Pro Bowl the past two seasons.
In five games this year, the 32-year-old posted five combined tackles while playing 81 special teams snaps.
Steelers Replacing Miles Killebrew on Special Teams
Killebrew didn’t play at all on defense this season. Since the start of the 2024 campaign, he’s averaged under 0.5 defensive snaps per game.
Yet, the Steelers still have a tall task in replacing him because of his special teams contributions.
In Week 7, fellow veteran safety Jabrill Peppers filled in for Killebrew on the punt team. Tomlin liked how Peppers played but still sees replacing the All-Pro special teamer as a multi-man job.
“Pep did a nice job as our personal protector on the punt team last week. But there will be no exhale there,” Tomlin added. “That’s something that has to be earned over a long period of time.
“We’ve played a lot of football with Miles in that spot. That’s the quarterback of the punt team, if you will. That certainly has our attention as we look to fortify the voided spaces where he’s usually an asset to us.”
The Steelers signed Peppers for additional depth ahead of Week 2. The former first-round pick has quickly become a versatile asset for Tomlin.
Peppers played 43 defensive snaps in Week 3 against the New England Patriots. Over the past two contests, Peppers has lined up for 38 special teams snaps.
The 30-year-old played 83.3% of the team’s special teams snaps versus the Bengals.
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