Former Pittsburgh Steelers defensive tackle Daniel Ekuale has found his next NFL opportunity.
According to the NFL transaction wire, Ekuale signed a contract with the Washington Commanders on Wednesday. The veteran will join the Commanders practice squad. Washington had an opening on the squad with the promotion of fellow defensive tackle Ricky Barber to the active roster.
Ekuale spent the 2025 campaign with the Steelers. He appeared in seven games before suffering a season-ending injury in Week 8. Ekuale missed the rest of the 2025 season after that.
In seven games with the Steelers, Ekuale posted six combined tackles, one quarterback hit and one pass defense.
While recovering from injury, Ekuale had been a free agent since March. He tried out for multiple teams this fall before signing with the Commanders.
Former Steelers DT Daniel Ekuale Signs With Commanders
After months of waiting for an opportunity, Ekuale has one in Washington.
The Commanders will be the fifth NFL team of his career. In addition to the Steelers, Ekuale has also played for the Cleveland Browns, Jacksonville Jaguars and New England Patriots.
Ekuale never started for Pittsburgh, but he has started 21 contests in his career. Of those starts, 16 of them were with the Patriots during 2024.
The defensive tackle signed with the Browns as an undrafted free agent in 2018. The following year, he made his NFL debut with Cleveland.
Ekuale started his first contest with the Jaguars in 2020. Besides 2024, his other five career starts came with Jacksonville during 2020.
Unsurprisingly, his best statistical season came in 2024 when he made a career-high 16 starts. For the Patriots, Ekuale posted 52 combined tackles, including two for loss with three quarterback hits and a sack. New England, though, didn’t bring back Ekuale after the team transitioned from Jerod Mayo to Mike Vrabel as head coach.
For the Steelers in 2025, Ekuale played 72 defensive snaps. He also received six snaps on special teams.
Last November while on injured reserve, Ekuale received a five-game suspension for violating the league’s performance-enhancing substance policy. It was the second time he had violated the policy in his NFL career.
The league also suspended Ekuale four games during his rookie season when he was on the Browns practice squad.
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