The Pittsburgh Steelers added to their defensive line over the weekend, reportedly signing former New England Patriots DT Daniel Ekuale. While it may not have been the big-time addition some may have been anticipating in free agency, the Steelers needed to bolster their depth.
Steelers Depot’s Alex Kozora dove into the tape to give us an idea of what kind of player the Steelers are getting in Ekuale. But who is he as a person? Here are five things to know about the newest Steelers defensive tackle.
From The Small Football Hotspot Of American Samoa
Ekuale hails from Pago Pago, the capital of American Samoa. It’s a small territory of the United States comprised of seven islands in the Pacific Ocean. Encyclopedia Britannica estimates that American Samoa’s population in 2025 is 53,400 people. Comparatively, the city of Pittsburgh had a population of 302,971 in 2023.
Despite that small population, you’ll find a number of American Samoan players in the NFL. Washington Commanders LB Frankie Luvu is from Tafuna, American Samoa. Detroit Lions OT Penei Sewell, the seventh-overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, is from a village near Pago Pago.
And former USC FB and current Seattle Seahawks running backs coach Kennedy Polamalu is from Pago Pago. Yes, he is related to former Steelers S Troy Polamalu. Kennedy is Troy’s uncle.
Forever Grateful To The Pirate Of College Football
It’s not easy to get to American Samoa. If you want to fly from the U.S. to American Samoa, you really only have one choice: Hawaiian Airlines. And it only flies into American Samoa twice a week. So, it can make travel tricky, even more so for players like Ekuale who want to play football. And Ekuale was rated the best college prospect from American Samoa.
But one coach’s recruiting efforts left a big impact on Ekuale. Ekuale spoke with MassLive.com after the passing of legendary college football coach Mike Leach, “The Pirate.” And Ekuale recounted that Leach actually came to American Samoa for recruiting purposes while at Washington State.
“Mike Leach was the first head coach here, college-wise, that came back home on the island,” Ekuale said. “There are not a lot of coaches who go back to Samoa. It’s really hard to go back home because it’s far away in the South Pacific. He came back home one time, and he recruited some of the island players over there. I was fortunate enough to get recruited by his assistant coaches. When I came over to take my visit, I fell in love with the place. Some of the guys, we came together from back home, it felt like home.”
All because the Pirate was willing to set sail in the South Pacific despite the travel difficulties.
A Taste Of Home At Washington State Courtesy Of An NFL Veteran
Washington State didn’t just feel like home for Ekuale because of some fellow American Samoa players there. His positional coach was also from American Samoa.
Joe Salave’a was born in American Samoa before he went to college and made it to the NFL. He was a fifth-round draft pick of the then-Tennessee Oilers in 1998. He played eight seasons in the NFL and recorded 119 total tackles, 20 tackles for a loss, 7.5 sacks, six passes knocked down, two forced fumbles, and one fumble recovery. That experience helped make him a good coach for young college players like Ekuale.
Salave’a’s ability to speak Samoan, Ekuale’s native language, made him invaluable as well. Ekuale learned English in high school but wasn’t fluent. So he spent his time at Washington State learning English, and Salave’a was a big help in that.
A Little Taste Of The AFC North
Ekuale isn’t a complete stranger to the AFC North. When he agreed to terms with the Steelers, he headed back to the division where his NFL journey actually started. In 2018, he signed with the Cleveland Browns as an undrafted free agent. He did not play at all in 2018 and was actually released from the Browns’ practice squad early in September. But the Browns signed him to a reserve/futures contract in 2019 and he actually played seven games for them before going on injured reserve to start November. He only had four combined tackles and one tackle for a loss in those four games.
And despite playing in the AFC his entire career, Ekuale has only played against the Steelers once. He had one assisted tackle in that game.
Not Afraid To Call Out Teammates
The 2024 Patriots season was a bad one. They went 4-13, and first-year head coach Jerod Mayo was dismissed after the season. After one of the team’s lackluster performances in a 32-16 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, Ekuale called out his teammates.
“Jerod just said everybody gotta check their ego when they come in,” Ekuale saud. “And I agree with him. I feel like a lot of guys think too highly of themselves and have to check their ego and come in and just play as a team. I feel like if we play as a team, nobody can stop us. But if we go out there and do our own thing and play outside of the scheme, that’s when we get beat.”
Leaders need to take their teammates to task when they aren’t playing as a team. And that’s exactly what Ekuale did here. He also made sure to reinforce his belief that they can win when they play as a team. Also a hallmark of a good leader.
