Miles Killebrew joins Buccaneers on $1.8 million deal
miles killebrew is departing the Pittsburgh Steelers in free agency after agreeing to a one-year contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers worth about $1. 8 million. The move pairs him again with Danny Smith, Tampa Bay’s new special teams coach, and forces Pittsburgh to replace a player who built his résumé as a specialist rather than a full-time defender.
Miles Killebrew’s one-year Tampa deal
The agreement is for one season at about $1. 8 million, a figure that also frames what the Steelers are losing financially: a known, decorated special teams contributor at a relatively modest cost. The facts of the signing also point to a clear role expectation. Even though Killebrew is technically a safety, his usage has tilted heavily toward special teams across his career, and Tampa Bay’s interest aligns with that deployment rather than a shift into a larger defensive workload.
The pattern suggests the Buccaneers targeted a defined roster solution: a player whose value is concentrated in one phase of the game, with a price tag that reflects that specialization. That approach can stabilize special teams roles that often change quickly from season to season, especially when coaching staffs turn over.
Danny Smith connection to Pittsburgh
One of the most direct causes for the move is the coaching link. Danny Smith, now Tampa Bay’s special teams coach, previously held the same job with the Steelers and worked with Killebrew before offseason changes on the Pittsburgh coaching staff. That relationship matters because special teams is assignment-heavy and technique-driven, and a coach’s trust in a player often translates into immediate playing time and responsibility.
The figures point to why that trust exists. In his NFL career, Killebrew has played 2, 957 snaps on special teams compared with 766 on defense, and one accounting of his usage put him at 71. 4% of his team’s available special teams snaps versus 7. 6% of available defensive snaps. The resume includes two Pro Bowl selections (2023 and 2024) and a first-team All-Pro nod in 2023 for special teams work, signaling that his impact has been both consistent and recognized at a league level.
Steelers replace an All-Pro specialist
For Pittsburgh, the immediate consequence is a vacancy in a role that is hard to replace with a single roster move, because it combines experience, durability expectations, and a niche skill set. miles killebrew’s recent seasons show both the ceiling and the risk embedded in that profile: he posted 26 tackles in 2023 and 13 in 2024, then played just five games in 2025 before a knee injury ended his season. In those five games, he recorded five total tackles.
His overall production also illustrates the type of player leaving the building. Killebrew has totaled 166 tackles, two sacks, six passes defensed, and a forced fumble in his career, but the core value proposition has been his special teams presence. The analytical takeaway is narrow but meaningful: losing a specialist with a high special teams snap share can create downstream effects, because multiple players may need to absorb pieces of the workload rather than one person taking over an every-down job.
Killebrew’s career path underscores why teams view him as a plug-in special teams piece. He was drafted in the fourth round by the Detroit Lions in the 2016 NFL Draft out of Southern Utah, played his first five NFL seasons with Detroit, and then spent his next five seasons with the Steelers. Tampa Bay is now betting that his track record in a clearly defined role will translate quickly, particularly with Smith coaching him again.
The next unresolved question is strictly practical: which Steelers player takes over the snaps and assignments that Killebrew handled on special teams, now that Pittsburgh “will have to find someone new to hold down” that role. If the Buccaneers use him in line with his 2, 957 special teams snaps to date, the data suggests the most immediate impact will be felt in Tampa Bay’s coverage and unit continuity rather than in defensive snap counts.
