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Report: Steelers Looking to Acquire a Defensive Lineman before Trade Deadline

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The Pittsburgh Steelers are looking to acquire a defensive lineman before the 4 p.m. NFL trade deadline, according to a report by Aditi Kinkhabwala of NFL Network.

The Steelers have been playing shorthanded on the line most of the season, as starting defensive end Stephon Tuitt has missed all of the first nine weeks with a knee injury and has yet to return to practice.

Nose tackle Tyson Alualu has been out since suffering an ankle injury in the Steelers’ second game of the season, and his backup, Carlos Davis, will miss at least two more weeks with a knee injury that has had him on the shelf since being injured in the season opener.

Veteran backup Chris Wormley has filled in for Tuitt and third-year man Isaiah Buggs has taken on the nose tackle role, with rookie Isaiahh Loudermilk and practice squad call-up Henry Mondeaux providing depth.

The Steelers have been active in the trade market over the last few seasons and have traded away a number of future draft picks as a result. They traded their 2022 fourth-round pick to Miami for the 2021 pick they used to draft Loudermilk. Their 2022 fifth-round pick went to New York in 2020 for Avery Williamson. Their 2022 sixth-round pick was traded to Jacksonville for Joe Schobert.

They have an extra 2022 seventh-round pick from the Jets as part of the Williamson trade and a sixth-round pick from trading linebacker Melvin Ingram earlier on Tuesday.

The team has also traded its fifth-yard pick in 2023 to the San Francisco 49ers for cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon.