Elliott suffered a gruesome injury against the Green Bay Packers last October, tearing his hamstring off his knee. He first returned to action this summer, but said he was still dealing with too much pain and thus started the season on the injured reserve list.

Over his first 20 games with the Steelers, including two games where he was injured over the course of the game, Elliott averaged an 84.1% defensive snap share.

Against the Saints on Sunday, he played just 19 snaps, of 33.3% of the Steelers’ defensive snaps.

“Yeah, I got my feet up under me last week, played like 20-something, felt good,” Elliott said after practice on Wednesday at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex.

With that first game back under his belt, Elliott says he’s ready to go full bore against the Browns this Sunday.

“I can play 80 snaps if I need to,” he said. “But, you know, that’s up to the coaches and what they want my role to be. And, you know, I’m a team player.”

The Steelers might not feel they need Elliott to play 80 snaps because of the way that rookie Robert Spears-Jennings has emerged in his absence.

A seventh-round rookie out of Oklahoma, Spears-Jennings was not the Steelers’ first choice to replace Elliott at strong safety, but when veteran Rayshawn Jenkins proved not to be up to the task, the rookie has stepped in and played extremely well.

“He’s a great kid,” Elliott said. “I love his background, you know, he’s from a military family. He’s smart, wants to be coached, he’s fast, and I love RJ. He’s a great, young dude, bro. I don’t think in my nine years (in the league), I’ve had a rookie who is that welcoming to criticism and open to growing and learning. I care about that boy a lot.”

Spears-Jennings out-snapped Elliott, 27-19 on Sunday, with Jaquan Brisker playing the full game at free safety. The matchup with the Saints, with a starting running back in Alvin Kamara better known as a receiver and not a lot of physicality at the tight end position, probably favored the slighter Spears-Jennings.

But playing the Browns, with powerful runner Quinshon Judkins, definitely feels like more of an Elliott matchup. Despite that, he’s not letting on how much he thinks he might play.

“That’s not a question for me,” he said. “I’m happy and healthy. I’m going to play whatever they need me to play.”