Who will fill Stephon Tuitt’s shoes for the Steelers?

Tyson Alualu

Alualu is a former first-round pick that never quite panned out to his hype in Jacksonville. He wasn’t a star there, but he did tally 17.5 sacks and 259 total tackles for the Jaguars.

His signing to Pittsburgh was strictly for quality depth, and he has provided that in his time there. Now in his third season as a Steelers player, he has tallied 73 tackles and five sacks as a depth player.

As with any team, depth eventually will be tested. The injury to Tuitt will bring Alualu into the fold much more than he has been this season.

This is nothing new to Alualu as he started 88 games in Jacksonville. He has also filled in for injury in Pittsburgh, starting five games in 2017 and two in 2018.

He will likely take over at defensive end in the base sets with Hargrave at his usual nose tackle spot. He will heed sub package reps to Hargrave in nickel and dime sets, but he will also get more reps there than before the Tuitt injury.

Alualu is still a productive player at 32 years old, and that is just what the Steelers need at this time. He will move up the pecking order and get a chance to show he still has some first-round juice left.