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The Pittsburgh Steelers roster is pretty stout, when it comes to the starters, but in regards to depth at several positions — they have issues.
One of those positions would be along the defensive line. After Cameron Heyward, Stephon Tuitt and Javon Hargrave, the team doesn’t have a ton of quality depth outside of L.T. Walton.
To address this depth, the team is bringing in former Jacksonville Jaguars defensive lineman Tyson Alualu, per Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.
Former Jags DL Tyson Alualu visiting Steelers, per source. Flying in today.
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) March 20, 2017
Alualu has played his entire career in Jacksonville, and has never played in less than 14 games, normally playing the entire 16-game schedule. In 2016, Alualu played in 14 games, starting 10, and had 2.5 sacks and 28 total tackles.
What comes as a surprise, from the Steelers perspective, is how they could re-sign defensive lineman Ricardo Mathews, who played 2016 under a one year contract, but it seems as if they are at least exploring their options elsewhere before settling on Mathews coming back to the black and gold.
If the team decides to sign Alualu, and let Mathews walk, it would be the third straight year they would be trying to search the free agent wire for quality depth along the defensive line. Cam Thomas started the trend, but who finishes it has yet to be determined.
Stay tuned to BTSC for the latest news involving all free agent rumors and reports connected to the Pittsburgh Steelers.