Hoping to snap their eight-year drought without a playoff win, the Pittsburgh Steelers are signing a veteran safety who knows what it takes to advance in the playoffs after winning two Super Bowls as a member of the Kansas City Chiefs.

Pittsburgh is signing Juan Thornhill to a one-year deal, according to NFL Media, a deal that will give the 29-year-old defensive back an opportunity to show that he is still one of the league’s premier safeties.

A 2019 second-round pick out of Virginia, Thornhill played an integral role on the Chiefs’ Super Bowl championship run that season. He started in each of Kansas City’s 16 regular season games, intercepting three passes that included his only career pick-six. But he missed that year’s postseason after he tore his ACL in Kansas City’s final regular season game.

Thornhill returned in 2020 and started in each of Kansas City’s playoff games, including the team’s Super Bowl loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He remained in the starting lineup for the majority of his final two seasons with the Chiefs. In 2022, Thornhill matched his career-high with three interceptions while also recording a career-high 71 tackles for the Chiefs, who defeated the Eagles’ in that year’s Super Bowl.

That offseason, Thornhill signed a three-year, $21 million deal with the the Browns. Injuries hindered his availability and productivity in Cleveland, however, which led to his release on Feb. 25.

In Pittsburgh, Thornhill will join a veteran Steelers defense that is led by former NFL Defensive Player of the Year T.J. Watt and perennial Pro Bowlers Cameron Heyward and fellow safety Minkah Fitzpatrick. Pittsburgh also recently signed former Eagles Pro Bowl cornerback Darius Slay.

The Steelers defense had their moments last year, but the unit is looking to make vast improvements against the run in 2025 after allowing 299 yards during their wild-card playoff loss to the Ravens.