Steelers sign L.T. Walton, place Stephon Tuitt on Reserve/Injured List

In a move which was known to be coming after reports Monday night of Stephon Tuitt needing surgery on his torn pectoral ending his 2019 season, he has been placed on the Reserve/Injured List. In his place, the Steelers have signed DT L.T. Walton.

Walton was drafted by the Steelers in the sixth round of the 2015 NFL draft out of Central Michigan. Used primarily as a back up on the defensive line, Walton has appeared in 36 games for the Steelers with four starts. In 2017, he contributed two sacks with 12 tackles and three quarterback hits.

During the 2018 season, Walton only dressed in four games as he was primarily inactive as the last option on the defensive line. After the season, the Steelers chose not to sign Walton to a new contract after his rookie deal had expired. Walton spent time this past off-season with the Buffalo Bills, but failed to make their 53-man roster.

As for Stephon Tuitt, his 2019 season comes to a close after arguably his best year with the Steelers. Tuitt was tied for second on the team with 3.5 sacks before suffering his injury in the first quarter against the Los Angeles Chargers.

It is unclear at this time if the Steelers will call on Walton or rookie Isaiah Buggs to fill out the bottom of their depth chart on game days. Regardless of which player gets a helmet, the Steelers must have factored in Walton’s familiarity with the team’s system in order to help bolster the depth along the defensive line.

In other roster moves, the Steelers filled their two open spots on the practice squad with a running back and an offensive lineman.

Undrafted out of Oregon, running back Tony Brooks-James spent the 2019 preseason with the Atlanta Falcons before landing on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers practice squad. He was released by the Buccaneers last Wednesday.

The other players the Steeler signed, Christian DiLauro, was undrafted out of Illinois in 2018 and was signed by the Cleveland Browns. He originally made their practice squad only to be cut a few days later. DiLauro spent the majority of 2018 on the 49ers practice squad but was released during training camp in 2019. DiLauro then spent time with the Houston Texans on their practice squad this season but was released at the beginning of October.

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