PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Steelers need a strong secondary for their next game, but they won't have two important defensive depth pieces.

The Steelers announced that both cornerbacks Brandin Echols and Doneiko Slaughter are out with hamstring injuries for their Week 8 matchup against the Cleveland Browns at Acrisure Stadium.

Echols will miss his second game, after not featuring in the 16-10 win over the New Orleans Saints in Paris, France, in Week 7, after suffering the injury in the 26-19 overtime win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium in Week 6.

Slaughter suffered his injury in the win over the Saints and both players didn't practice on Oct. 29.

What This Means for the Steelers against the Browns

The Steelers still have their main secondary healthy, with Asante Samuel Jr. and Jamal Dean as starting cornerbacks, Jalen Ramsey at nickelback and Jaquan Brisker as safety.

Pittsburgh's issue is that they don't have as good of depth with Echols and Slaughter out, which could poise problems for them if there are injuries to the starting core.

Ramsey doesn't have a backup nickelback after Echols and Samuel loses his third-string replacement.

Sean Murphy-Bunting, whom the Steelers signed off of the Buccaneers' practice squad on Oct. 5, is next on the depth chart behind Samuel.

Pittsburgh may turn to Daylen Everette and Terell Smith, who are listed behind Dean on the depth chart, as depth for Samuel and Murphy-Bunting if they suffer any injuries.

The Steelers do have a few players they could activate from the practice squad for this game if they need more depth against the Browns.

Sebastian Castro, Darius Rush and Car'lin Vigers could all be elevated for this next game.

Why This Game is So Big for the Steelers

The Steelers have one of their biggest games of the season against the Browns this weekend, with both teams 5-2 and tied for the AFC North lead.

Cleveland holds the tiebreaker over Pittsburgh after their 27-24 win in the first matchup of 2026 in Week 4 at Huntington Bank Field.

The Steelers also face divisional competition from the Bengals, 4-2, and even the Ravens, 4-3, who have stumbled a bit without quarterback Lamar Jackson.

Pittsburgh has a real chance to show midway through 2026 that they are the favorite to win the AFC North and be one of the best teams in the NFL.

The Steelers defense has been excellent this season and they need to be so again when they face a solid offensive attack from the Browns.