As we’ve done in previous years, we’re taking a look at those Pittsburgh Steelers under Reserve/Futures contracts for the 2025 offseason — the ones who spent most of, if not the entire year, on the practice squad — and what we can expect from them during training camp and (hopefully) into the regular season. Today, an outlook on EDGE Eku Leota.
Eku Leota/EDGE Auburn – 6030, 252 pounds
For a brief time last season, the Steelers were hurting at outside linebacker. No Alex Highsmith. No Nick Herbig. It left Pittsburgh scrambling for reinforcements. That included Leota, signed off the Carolina Panthers’ practice squad in October.
Pressed into action two weeks after being signed, Leota made his Steelers’ debut. It was just one game, Week Six against the Las Vegas Raiders, logging 13 snaps in the win. He recorded one tackle, a late third quarter stop on RB Alexander Mattison.
A well-built EDGE rusher, Leota’s biggest impact of the season came earlier in the year. He started the season with a sack in the regular season opener for the Panthers, taking down New Orleans Saints QB Derek Carr.
With 11 career NFL games under his belt, there’s a little of experience to fall back on. And in Pittsburgh, an opportunity. The top-three outside linebacker spots are obviously spoken for. T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith, and Nick Herbig are locks.
The No. 4 spot is open. Jeremiah Moon re-signed on a one-year deal but his spot isn’t guaranteed, especially after Pittsburgh’s curious initial decision against tendering him. He brings special teams value but hasn’t shown much defensively, a long-limbed but limited pass rusher who doesn’t feel natural at the position. Malik Harrison is in a similar boat, better-suited to play off-ball than true edge.
Of course, Leota will need a great camp to make it happen. We’ve seen it happen at the position before with Ola Adeniyi, Tuzar Skipper, Jamir Jones, and to a lesser extent, Kyron Johnson a summer ago. Still, Leota will enter as an underdog and outside-the-bubble. But with size, length, and a tiny bit of production if you squint hard enough, a great camp will put him on the 53-man roster radar come the end of September.
