Insider Predicts Steelers Will Cut Veteran Defensive Lineman After Pittsburgh's 2025 Draft Approach

The Pittsburgh Steelers entered the 2025 offseason with a clear goal in mind, which was to get better at stopping the run. Efforts were made to meet this goal during the 2025 NFL Draft as the organization drafted both Derrick Harmon and Yahya Black, both of whom will each bring some youth and size to the interior of the defensive line. Both players will be able to learn from a great player in Cam Heyward, but they will also push some veterans out that have already spent some time in Pittsburgh. That is the unfortunate reality of the NFL, as rosters change drastically from season to season.

Pittsburgh run defense was atrocious to end the 2024 season, and it was clearly an area that needed to be addressed. The linebacker group was decent, but the gap control on the defensive line outside of Heyward was not good. 

The Steelers infused the group with some more talent throughout the draft, which should help the defense as a whole. In what seemed to be a corresponding move, Pittsburgh also released Montravius Adams after the draft, as the organization is going to have to make room on the active roster for the new additions.

The Steelers typically keep seven defensive lineman on the active roster going into a season, and this does not include outside linebackers. Team insider Gerry Dulac was asked in a recent chat who will be on the outside looking in, and he believes veteran Isaiahh Loudermilk will not stick on the final roster.

"Probably [DeMarvin] Leal and see what you have in last year's sixth-round pick, Logan Lee." Dulac wrote. "They've given Loudermilk enough time to prove himself."

The Steelers drafted Loudermilk in the fifth round of the 2021 NFL Draft, and he saw his rookie contract expire after the 2024 season. He went unsigned for a while, but he eventually inked a new one-year deal worth a bit more than $1.5 million. The low cap hit makes him fairly easy to cut financially, although he has been a fixture of the defensive line room for the last four seasons.

There are some clear locks to make the roster within Pittsburgh's defensive line room. Heyward and Keeanu Benton are going to be on the team, as are the two rookies in Harmon and Black. 

That means the rest of the space on the roster will come down to Logan Lee, DeMarvin Leal, Loudermilk, Dean Lowry, Daniel Ekuale, and Jacob Slade. The organization is going to want to keep Lee around as he was drafted in 2024 and spent the entire season on Injured Reserve, and Leal provides a great deal of versatility.

There is a scenario where Pittsburgh is so focused on stopping the run and keeping defensive linemen fresh that the franchise hangs to more players at the position than usual. If that is the case then Loudermilk should have a decent shot to make the roster, but Pittsburgh might opt to keep someone else as Loudermilk has been around for four seasons and made minimal impact.

Steelers Still Don't Know What They Have In Logan Lee

During the 2025 season, two defensive linemen from Iowa will be making their NFL debut, and that is Lee and Black. Black is going to be a rookie of course, but Lee was Pittsburgh's sixth-round pick in 2024. Lee went on season-ending Injured Reserve early on, essentially making his rookie season a redshirt year. 

If Lee can turn into a defensive lineman and contribute off of the bench, then the Steelers deserve a ton of credit for the way the defensive line has changed over the course of the last year. The organization released Adams and Larry Ogunjobi while making it a focus to inject youth into the room that could make the front dominant for years to come.

Do you agree with Dulac? Will Loudermilk get cut ahead of the 2025 season?

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