Steelers LG Isaac Seumalo Only Cares About Winning At This Point in His Career
After the 2024 NFL Draft, the Steelers rebuild of their offensive line finally looks completed. The group is now consisted of a good mix of veterans and young guys with Isaac Seumalo being the leader of the bunch. While Seumalo played well in his first season with the team, the offense as a whole struggled at times.
Now under new leadership in Arthur Smith, many players have came out and expressed the differences between Smith and his predecessor Matt Canada. Players like Jaylen Warren talked about how Smith is interactive with the players and Seumalo spoke about how he holds everybody accountable.
“I think he’s made everyone super accountable, which, you know, I think starts with the players, but it’s good to have [from the] coaches as well,” Seumalo said. “I think he’s been consistent in his message, wants guys to take each day to, you know, be a pro and have to come in with an attitude like, ‘What can I do today to prove myself to my teammates?’”
While Seumalo enters his ninth NFL season, he is ready to be under a coach and offense that has an identity. Under Canada’s lead, at times, there was no identity for the Steelers offense.
“I have watched a lot of Atlanta film from last year, even when he was with Tennessee,” Seumalo said. “Obviously he likes to run the ball which I am not complaining. The biggest thing for me is winning, that’s all I really care about. If we have to run it 50 times or throw it 50 times, I will do whatever.”
While the offense works on itself, Seumalo sees the rookies improving everyday. The Steelers drafted Troy Fautanu, Zach Frazier and Mason McCormick this offseason and all three will be playing on the same unit as Seumalo by as early as next season. Since their arrival, Seumalo has been impressed with the “talented” rookies.
“They have been awesome,” Seumalo said. “They are super coachable, obviously super talented. They have come in and all they want to do is learn and get better. That is great because that is what we are all here to do. … All three of the rookies, they will help our team a lot.”
Seumalo is locked into the starting left guard job and now with his cap hit north of $10 million and some rookies joining the starting unit, the Steelers need Seumalo to duplicate his success from a season ago.
73 • Isaac Seumalo, Guard, Oregon State
6-foot-4, 303 pounds, 30 years old, 9th Season
Acquired: The Steelers signed Isaac Seumalo to a three-year contract on March 18, 2023, after his deal with the Philadelphia Eagles expired.
Last Year: In his first season with the Steelers, Isaac Seumalo played exceptionally well. In his 1,038 offensive snaps Seumalo only committed one penalty and did not allow a single sack. He started all 17 regular season games and the AFC Wild Card game at left guard.
Career: The Philadelphia Eagles drafted Isaac Seumalo with the 79th overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft after an elite final season at Oregon State. As a rookie, Seumalo appeared in nine games and recorded four starts which included two at right guard, one at left guard, and one at right tackle.
In his second and third seasons, Seumalo appeared in 27 total games with 11 starts at left guard. Seumalo started the 2018 season as the starting left guard but was benched after Week 2 due to poor performances.
Prior to the 2019 season, the Eagles re-signed Seumalo to a three-year contract. Seumalo became the full-time starting left guard and started all 16 games in 2019. He played a career-high 1,162 snaps on the offensive line as he allowed five sacks and committed five penalties.
In 2020, Seumalo missed a portion of the year due to a knee injury but did start all nine contests that he appeared in at left guard. The next season, Seumalo started the first three games of the season but was injured and missed the rest of the season.
After two injury-rattled seasons, Seumalo started all 17 games and helped the Eagles make the Super Bowl. Seumalo played his second-most snaps in his career with all 1,135 of them coming at right guard. Seumalo enjoyed the best season of his career as he only allowed one sack all year.
Suemalo earned the highest PFF rating (75.2) of his career as he played at an above-average to elite level in 2022. For his play, Seumalo was named to the Pro Bowl as an alternate. Seumalo became an unrestricted free agent following the Eagles’ Super Bowl loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.
| Year | GP | GS | Snaps | Sacks Allowed | Penalties | PFF Rating |
| 2016 | 9 | 4 | 336 | 2 | 2 | 70.6 |
| 2017 | 14 | 2 | 285 | 6 | 2 | 42.7 |
| 2018 | 13 | 9 | 548 | 1 | 2 | 68.1 |
| 2019 | 16 | 16 | 1,162 | 5 | 5 | 69.6 |
| 2020 | 9 | 9 | 588 | 4 | 2 | 62.4 |
| 2021 | 3 | 3 | 168 | 0 | 3 | 74.8 |
| 2022 | 17 | 17 | 1,135 | 1 | 6 | 75.2 |
| 2023 | 17 | 17 | 1,038 | 0 | 1 | 71.9 |
College: Coming out of high school as a consensus four-star prospect, Isaac Seumalo committed to play at Oregon State University. Seumalo won the starting center job as a true freshman and became the first true freshman to start at center for the Beavers since 1978. Seumalo started all 13 games for the Beavers in 2012.
In 2013, Seumalo started all 12 games that he played in as he posted 10 starts at center and two at right tackle. Seumalo suffered a foot injury in the Hawai’i Bowl that resulted in him missing the whole 2014 season. Pro Football Focus gave Seumalo an above-average rating of 81.0 after his sophomore year. In addition, Seumalo was named to the Pac-12 All-Conference Second Team.
Seumalo sat out the 2014 season on a redshirt as he recovered from his late-season injury suffered in 2013.
As a redshirt junior, Seumalo rebounded and started all 12 games which included nine at right guard and three at right tackle. Seumalo played 807 offensive snaps over the 12 games and did not allow a single sack. After the season, Seumalo was named Pac-12 All-Conference Honorable Mention. He earned an elite rating of 94.0 from PFF after the 2015 season.
| Year | GP | GS | Snaps | Sacks Allowed | Penalties | PFF Rating |
| 2012 | 13 | 13 | – | – | – | – |
| 2013 | 12 | 12 | – | – | – | 81.0 |
| 2014 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – |
| 2015 | 12 | 12 | 807 | 0 | 4 | 94.0 |
Salary cap and future: Isaac Seumalo signed a three-year, $24 million contract with the Steelers last offseason. His cap hit in 2024 is $10.19 million In 2023, Seumalo is owed $7.87 million in base salary and $2.32 million in a roster bonus.
Seumalo is signed with the Steelers through the end of the 2025 season when he will become an unrestricted free agent.
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