The Steelers will replace one veteran defensive tackle with another. After watching Larry Ogunjobi depart for Buffalo, Pittsburgh has signed former Patriots defensive tackle Daniel Ekuale to fill his place, according to his agent, Blake Baratz.
Ekuale entered the league as an undrafted free agent out of Washington State in 2018, signing with the Browns. After some nominal playing time in Cleveland, Ekuale’s sophomore campaign saw him start five games for the Jaguars in nine game appearances. For the second straight year, though, the team with which he finished the season, let him go in final roster cuts just prior to the next season.
This time, Ekuale landed in New England, where he would play a rotational role on the Patriots defensive line for the next two years. He started 2021, his first year with the team, coming off the practice squad, before the team began to realize his contribution potential as he tallied two sacks. After sitting out the first two games of 2022 due to a suspension, Ekuale continued in his rotational role. He played in every game for the remainder of that season logging another two sacks. He started 2023 in a similar role, but a torn bicep forced him to miss all but three games of the season.
Ekuale returned to the field in 2024 as a fill-in starter for the Patriots while Christian Barmore dealt with diagnosed blood clot issues. Ekuale ended up starting every game of the season but one last year, the first serious playing time of his career. He only tallied one sack while merely matching career highs in tackles for loss (2) and quarterback hits (3), but he vastly improved his tackling numbers with a career-high 52 combined tackles.
In his first season as a full-time starter, Ekuale graded out just above average, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required), ranking 52nd out of 118 interior defenders. If he plays up to the same level in Pittsburgh, that would be an improvement over the player he’s replacing, Ogunjobi, who hasn’t ranked higher than 52nd per PFF since his rookie season in 2017.