Miles Killebrew signs one-year deal with Buccaneers, leaving Steelers scrambling on special teams
miles killebrew is departing the Pittsburgh Steelers in free agency to sign with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, shifting the special teams landscape for both teams. As of Thursday in Eastern Time (ET), the move was described as a one-year contract worth about $1. 8 million. The immediate impact is clear: Pittsburgh loses a core special teams presence, while Tampa Bay adds a specialist with top honors on his resume.
Deal details and the coaching connection
Jeremy Fowler of said Thursday that Miles Killebrew is signing a one-year deal with the Buccaneers worth about $1. 8 million. The move also comes with a direct coaching link: Tampa Bay’s new special teams coach is Danny Smith, who previously coached special teams in Pittsburgh with Miles Killebrew before offseason changes on the Steelers’ coaching staff.
The Steelers now face a straightforward personnel problem. The team will need a new special teams ace to cover the role that had been anchored by a player whose best work has come in specialist assignments rather than on defense.
Miles Killebrew brings elite special teams credentials
Miles Killebrew is a two-time Pro Bowler and a one-time All-Pro for his work on special teams. While he is technically listed as a safety, his usage has been heavily tilted toward special teams throughout his career, underscoring why Tampa Bay pursued him for a core role in that phase.
In terms of how he has been deployed, his career snap split reflects a specialist profile: he has played 7. 6% of his teams’ available defensive snaps while appearing on 71. 4% of available special teams snaps. Another set of career totals reinforces the same theme: 766 defensive snaps and 2, 957 special teams snaps, with 166 tackles, two sacks, six passes defensed, and a forced fumble.
Recent season ended early with injury
His most recent season was cut short. Miles Killebrew played only five games in 2025 before a knee injury ended his season, finishing with five total tackles for Pittsburgh. The early ending did not erase his standing as a recognized special teams performer, highlighted by Pro Bowl selections in 2023 and 2024 and first-team All-Pro recognition in 2023.
Looking back at recent production noted in the available figures, he posted 26 tackles in the 2023 season and 13 in the 2024 campaign.
Immediate reactions and what teams are facing now
Jeremy Fowler of characterized the agreement as a one-year, $1. 8 million deal, tying the move to Danny Smith’s arrival in Tampa Bay after coaching special teams in Pittsburgh. For the Buccaneers, the fit is direct: a core special teams player joining a staff led by a coach who has worked with him before.
For Pittsburgh, the effect is just as direct. The Steelers will have to find someone new to hold down the role previously filled by their departing specialist, and that search becomes more urgent with the free-agency move now in motion.
Quick context and what’s next
Miles Killebrew entered the league as a fourth-round pick in the 2016 NFL Draft out of Southern Utah, spending his first five NFL seasons with the Detroit Lions and his next five with the Steelers. With the Buccaneers now bringing him in on a one-year agreement, the next developments to watch in ET will be how Tampa Bay integrates him into its special teams plans under Danny Smith—and how quickly Pittsburgh identifies a replacement to stabilize its special teams unit after losing miles killebrew.
