Daniel Ekuale was one of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ first free agent signings this past offseason. Some of the other additions Pittsburgh made to its defense overshadowed him. But with all the injuries the unit is dealing with so far, he could play quite a role on Sunday. Steelers defensive coordinator Teryl Austin talked about the impact the veteran is making so far.
“We’ll be looking, again, with attrition, we’ll be looking for veteran guys like him, maybe to pick up some extra snaps, so you don’t have to throw those all on young guys,” Austin said after Thursday’s practice via a team-provided transcript. “Daniel’s been good. He’s had a good two weeks. He had a really good week of practice last week; he’s got a good week going this week. So, I’m excited to see how he performs and the versatility he does bring to us.”
Ekuale isn’t getting a ton of time on the field. He’s only played 32 defensive snaps this season. His playing time experienced an uptick against the Seahawks last Sunday, being on the field for 20 snaps. He doesn’t have a sack, but he has gotten after the quarterback a couple of times and has two tackles to his name.
Given the lack of production from the rest of the interior, the Steelers need him to step up against his former team on Sunday. Cam Heyward had a nice rebound performance in Week 2. But Keeanu Benton isn’t doing the job well enough at nose tackle, a position one beat writer thinks Daniel Ekuale could take some more snaps at.
He’s not a starter for the Steelers, but Ekuale has starting experience. Playing in New England last year, Ekuale started 16 games and put together a solid season. That type of veteran impact will help Pittsburgh this week, Cam Heyward says.
“I think Dan brings a veteran presence that has done it for a long time,” Heyward said Thursday via Steelers.com. “Understands schemes, understands what a team is trying to do versus you. Sometimes when you have younger guys, they don’t always understand the blocks they’re getting.”
It certainly helps to have a veteran, considering the youth in the unit. Benton is in his third year, but has yet to really settle in the league. Yahya Black has a lot of potential. But as a fifth-round rookie, he’s got a lot of growing to do as well. Ekuale has been there and done that, which gives him a leg up and much more confidence in himself.
No matter who it is, Heyward knows guys need to step up.
“Other guys are gonna have to step up,” Heyward said. “We gotta make sure we’re up to speed.”
Daniel Ekuale will likely get a bigger share of the snaps on Sunday. But he’s far from the only player who needs to step up. The Steelers need more contributions from all three levels of their defense. If Ekuale can provide that this week, it will go a long way towards proving himself alongside the rest of his position group.
