Steelers Veteran DT Suffers Knee Injury Against Packers

A Pittsburgh Steelers defensive tackle went down with a knee injury during the second quarter of the team's Week 8 game against the Green Bay Packers.

Sep 14, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers defensive tackle Daniel Ekuale (96) pressures Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold (14) during the third quarter at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Ekuale Goes Down

After the first play of a Packers drive from their own 26-yard line, which resulted in an incomplete pass by Jordan Love intended for Romeo Doubs, Daniel Ekuale was slow to get up after sustaining his injury.

Medical staff went out to check on him, and though he walked off under his own power, he immediately went into the blue medical tent.

Ekuale emerged a short while after and headed into Pittsburgh's locker room. Steelers senior director of communications Burt Lauten revealed on X that the 31-year-old is doubtful to return, which obviously isn't a good sign moving forward.

#Steelers DT Daniel Ekuale sustained a knee injury and is doubtful to return to tonight's game.
— Burt Lauten (@SteelersPRBurt) October 27, 2025

Ekuale's Season

Ekuale signed a one-year deal with the Steelers worth $2.8 million this past March after spending the first six seasons of his career between the New England Patriots, Jacksonville Jaguars and Cleveland Browns.

He had appeared in all six of Pittsburgh's games this season coming into Week 8. Over 71 defensive snaps and six special teams reps over that span, Ekuale logged six tackles. He didn't record any stats before leaving the game vs. Green Bay.

Where Steelers Go From Here

The Steelers are rather healthy along the interior of their defensive line, but they'll have to go further into their depth chart moving forward if Ekuale misses any time.

Starters Cameron Heyward, Keeanu Benton and Derrick Harmon have all played a majority of Pittsburgh's snaps since the latter returned from injury in Week 3.

DeMarvin Leal and Logan Lee are listed as second-stringers at defensive tackle and nose tackle, respectively, but both players were healthy inactives for the Steelers' matchup against the Packers.

Rookie fifth-round pick Yahya Black played as many as 40 defensive snaps in a single game (Week 2) while Harmon was on the mend with a knee injury, but that number was reduced to a total of 29 in Pittsburgh's first two games out of its Week 5 bye.

Esezi Otomewo, another free agency signing from this past offseason for the Steelers, is active but had only seen the field for 10 total defensive reps coming into Week 8, all of which were in Week 6.

With Ekuale primarily serving as a nose tackle, perhaps Lee will be active in the future as the primary option behind Benton should the former miss any time.

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