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According to ESPN senior NFL insider Adam Schefter, the Pittsburgh Steelers are signing outside linebacker Ola Adeniyi, two years after he last played for the team.
Adeniyi, 25, became available on Monday after he was unceremoniously released by the Tennessee Titans. I’s not really a surprise that the Steelers moved to bring him back. After all, both T.J. Watt (ribs) and backup Malik Reed (back) have been laboring with injuries, with Reed having been inactive for last Sunday’s loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
Ola Adeniyi’s 2-Year Run With the Titans
Moreover, Adeniyi had a strong 2021 season in Tennessee, which came after the Titans signed him away from the Steelers in free agency in March 2021.
Adeniyi joined the Titans just a week after the Titans inked former Steelers first-round pick Bud Dupree to a five-year, $82.5 million contract.
And, in 2021, the Titans got a lot more bang from their buck with Adeniyi than they did with Dupree, who was still struggling to recover from the torn ACL he suffered against the Ravens in December 2020 and also missed time with an abdominal injury.
In fact, Adeniyi appeared in 16 games in a reserve role and was credited with 21 tackles (14 solo), along with 2.5 sacks and eight quarterback hits. Meanwhile, Dupree had just 17 total tackles (11 solo), three sacks and eight quarterback hits in 11 games (six starts).
But Adeniyi has had much of his 2022 season washed out by a neck injury, missing 10 consecutive weeks. He returned to the lineup in Week 13 and played a total of 41 snaps in a blowout loss to the Philadelphia Eagles but was a healthy scratch a week later. He has been credited with just three tackles in 2022, as per Pro Football Reference.
Ola Adeniyi’s First Stint With the Steelers
Adeniyi — who is listed at 6-foot-1 and 248 pounds — entered the league in 2018 when the Steelers signed him as an undrafted free agent out of Toledo. In 32 games he played a total of 215 snaps on defense and 508 snaps on special teams, recording 25 tackles (16 solo) and three forced fumbles over the course of three years.
At Toledo, Adeniyi recorded 118 tackles and 12.5 sacks in 29 games as a defensive end for the Rockets. His best collegiate season came in 2017, when he was responsible for 66 tackles (including 20 tackles for loss), as well as 8.5 sacks.
A restricted free agent in 2021, the Steelers decided not to tender him, making him an unrestricted free agent and available to the Titans.
But these days, the Steelers lack depth at outside linebacker beyond Watt, fellow starter Alex Highsmith (10 sacks) and the aforementioned Reed. Jamir Jones has appeared in all 13 games but has been credited with just eight tackles (six solo) and one pass defensed, having played 71 snaps on defense and 212 on special teams.
The Steelers also have David Anenih on the practice squad, as well as Emeke Egbule, a former 6th-round pick of the Los Angeles Chargers, who signed on December 7, 2022.
Pittsburgh (5-8) returns to action on Sunday Dec. 18 when it visits Bank of America Stadium to play the Carolina Panthers (5-8) at 1 pm Eastern.
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