These Steelers must head to the bench for the team to tank

Tyson Alualu is playing over younger options

One has to commend the job that Tyson Alualu has done for the Steelers since he signed here. Originally a rotational defensive end, he made the move to nose tackle and looked dominant despite his increasing age. An injury last year and a slow start to this season have caused him to become more of a backup again, but he has still been a key reserve this season.

While Alualu is a fine player to come off the bench when winning games is a must, he is currently taking snaps from some of the younger players on the depth chart. This is most likely his final season in the NFL, and even if he decides to stick around, Pittsburgh won’t be his home next year, thus his snaps are being wasted on him

Names like DeMarvin Leal and Isaiahh Loudermilk need more snaps to see what we have in them as they will both be around for the immediate future. If this team needed every win they could get to sneak into the playoffs, utilizing the veteran more makes sense. That is no longer the case, and Alualu is preventing the development of some of the younger defensive linemen.