Steelers Now
The Pittsburgh Steelers have placed defensive lineman Daniel Ekuale on the injured reserve list, the team announced on Friday.
Ekuale suffered a knee injury in the team’s loss to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday. Head coach Mike Tomlin announced on Tuesday that Ekuale suffered an ACL injury. The typical nine month recovery time will cause him to miss the rest of the 2025 season, and could jeopardize some of his 2026 offseason, as well.
The 31-year-old is in his first season in Pittsburgh, and is on a one-year contract with the Steelers that will expire in March.
Ekuale played for the Cleveland Browns, Jacksonville Jaguars and New England Patriots in his first six NFL seasons, becoming a starter for the Patriots for the first time in 2024 before joining the Steelers, where he accepted a role as the team’s backup nose tackle and No. 4 rotational defensive tackle.
In seven games this season, he finished with six tackles, two tackles for loss, one quarterback hit and one pass defended.
Fifth-round rookie Yahya Black will step into Ekuale’s role as the team’s second-string nose tackle behind Keeanu Benton, and Esezi Otomewo and Logan Lee will likely see elevated roles in terms of depth at defensive tackle.
“We’ve some great guys on the d-line, we’ve got a lot football left in the season, and we’ll just continue to prepare every day,” Otomewo said on Monday.
In addition to Ekuale, the team also placed strong safety DeShon Elliott on the injured reserve list. The team did not make any another corresponding transactions and now has two vacant slots on its 53-man active roster.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Steelers Place Defensive Lineman on Injured Reserve
