Steelers Now
One of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ suspended veterans is now free to return to the field.
The NFL has lifted the suspension for Pittsburgh Steelers defensive tackle Daniel Ekuale, according to Aaron Wilson of Houston’s KPRC2.
Ekuale, 31, was suspended five games by the NFL for violating the league’s performance-enhancing substances policy. He is in his first season with the Steelers.
Unfortunately, Ekuale may have played his last snap in the black and gold after he suffered a torn ACL in the team’s Week 8 loss to the Green Bay Packers. He is expected to miss the remainder of the 2025 season and his one-year contract with Pittsburgh will expire in March.
In seven games this season, he finished with six tackles, two tackles for loss, one quarterback hit and one pass defended.
Ekuale began his professional career as an undrafted free agent out of the 2018 NFL Draft. He caught on with the Cleveland Browns, who he spent the first two years of his NFL career with, before joining the Jacksonville Jaguars (2020) and New England Patriots (2021-24).
He became a starter for the first time in 2024 with the Patriots before catching on with the Steelers, where he accepted a role as the team’s backup nose tackle and No. 4 rotational defensive tackle.
Since his injury, he has been replaced by rookies Derrick Harmon and Yahya Black. Esezi Otomewo, Logan Lee and DeMarvin Leal represent the team’s remaining defensive line depth.
Ekuale is the second Steelers defensive lineman to face a suspension for performance-enhancing substances this year. Former Steelers defensive lineman Larry Ogunjobi was also suspended for the first six games of this season, after he was released by the Steelers in March and signed with the Buffalo Bills as a free agent.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: NFL Lifts Suspension For Steelers Veteran
