The Pittsburgh Steelers restored DL Dean Lowry to the active roster from Active/PUP today, the team announced today.
They also officially announced the signings of DE Marquiss Spencer and LB Luquay Washington, along with DT Breiden Fehoko being placed on IR and the team waiving LB Easton Gibbs.
Lowry was signed to a two-year deal at the beginning of April as a veteran depth piece along the defensive line but was one of three players that was unavailable at the start of training camp due to injury. He suffered a torn pectoral muscle in late November last season, so he could have just needed a little extra time before getting fully cleared.
Entering his ninth season in the NFL, Lowry played his first seven seasons with the Green Bay Packers before a one-year stint with the Minnesota Vikings. He only started four games for the Vikings and appeared in nine before the injury, but he was a full-time starter for four seasons with the Packers before that. He has 266 combined tackles, 143 solo tackles, 23 tackles for loss, 15.5 sacks, one defensive touchdown, one forced fumble, and one interception in his career.
Armon Watts departed for the New England Patriots in free agency as an underrated depth piece from a year ago, so the Steelers were in desperate need of depth. When Cameron Heyward suffered a groin injury at the beginning of the 2023 season, the defensive line depth was exposed as a real weakness on the team. With Heyward, the team allowed 99.6 rushing yards per game compared to 137.1 per game without him.
Before he was signed, defensive line depth was at the top of the list of the Steelers’ offseason needs. There was some speculation that they could target the position in the early rounds of the draft, but they waited until the sixth round to select DL Logan Lee.
Lowry is a good depth piece for Pittsburgh. He’s been working his way back from the injury, working off to the side at practice. He’ll likely log his first training camp practice later today, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him play in Pittsburgh’s second preseason game on Saturday against the Buffalo Bills.
