After accepting an offer to join the Jaguars, a return to the place where he started his career, Tyson Alualu has reconsidered, and he's now re-signing with the Steelers.
For real.
Alualu, 34, initially agreed to a two-year, $6 million deal with Jacksonville on the opening day of the legal tampering period. But he also never signed the deal. He spurned a similar offer from the Steelers at that time.
Alualu's wife and children have remained in Jacksonville the past four years while he has been in Pittsburgh. The Jaguars selected Alualu in the first round of the 2010 draft.
But, after some consideration, he's returning to Pittsburgh.
After initially agreeing to terms with the #Jaguars, veteran DE Tyson Alualu had a change of heart and now is re-signing with the #Steelers on a two-year deal, per sources.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 27, 2021
In this situation, COVID-19 helped the Steelers. Alualu was dealing with the virus and was unable to sign his deal with Jacksonville. All the while, his Steelers teammates kept working on him to return. And he finally relented.
It's a nice re-acquisition for the Steelers, who were in the market for a replacement prior to Alualu's signing.
While Alualu only appeared in 45 percent of the defensive snaps for the Steelers last season, he was very effective in his first season at nose tackle. Alualu had 38 tackles, two sacks and batted down five passes in 15 games.
Alualu initially joined the Steelers as a free agent in 2017.
Teammate T.J. Watthad an interesting reaction to the news on Twitter.
https://t.co/yC2393Knnq pic.twitter.com/qgAKMhsJyN
— TJ Watt (@_TJWatt) March 27, 2021
Cam Heyward also was happy to learn of the deal.
😉 my brotha is coming back!!!
— Cam Heyward (@CamHeyward) March 27, 2021
His return takes acquiring another defensive lineman off the table for the Steelers, who also re-signed Chris Wormley last week.
YOUR TURN: Tell us what you think! How much of a difference will Alualu make?