Pittsburgh Steelers defensive lineman Daniel Ekuale, who is currently on the Reserve/Injured list due to a torn ACL, was suspended by the NFL Tuesday for a violation of the league’s performance-enhancing substances policy.

According to the Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac, Ekuale was hit with a five-game suspension without pay for the PEDs violation. Ekuale is allowed to serve his suspension while on IR but will be without pay over the next five weeks.

Steelers DT Daniel Ekuale, who is on IR with a season-ending injury, has been suspended without pay for the club’s next five games by the NFL for violating the league’s Performance-Enhancing Substances Policy.

— Gerry Dulac (@gerrydulac) November 25, 2025

The veteran defensive lineman will lose out on $325,000 due to the suspension, according to Steelers Depot’s Dave Bryan.

Ekuale previously signed a one-year deal with the Steelers in free agency, coming over from New England to help shore up some depth along the defensive line. He appeared in seven games with the Steelers before suffering a torn ACL in their Sunday Night Football loss in Week 8 to the Green Bay Packers at Acrisure Stadium.

That injury landed Ekuale on Injured Reserve on Oct. 31 alongside standout safety DeShon Elliott, who also suffered a knee injury in the loss to the Packers.

Prior to the injury, Ekuale was a key reserve for the Steelers. Serving as the backup nose tackle to Keeanu Benton, while also rotating in at defensive end, Ekuale played 72 snaps on the season, though his snaps decreased significantly after the bye week.

Against the Packers, Ekuale played one snap and was injured. On the year, he finished with a grade of 73.3 overall from Pro Football Focus with six pressures and four run stops. In his career he’s played 1,713 snaps during stints with the Steelers, Patriots, Jacksonville Jaguars and Cleveland Browns.

Ekuale’s suspension for violating the league’s PEDs policy comes as a surprise. Previously, former Steelers defensive lineman Larry Ogunjobi was suspended six games by the league for a PEDs violation back in March after the Steelers had already cut him, saving money.

Ogunjobi was cut by the Steelers and then quickly found a home with the Buffalo Bills, who reportedly knew about Ogunjobi’s pending suspension before signing him.