Steelers A to Z: Dean Lowry brings experience, savvy to defensive line

Editor’s note: From now until reporting day to training camp at Saint Vincent College, TribLive is running through the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 90-man roster, looking at each player and assessing his outlook for the 2025 season. The breakdown will run in alphabetical order with at least two players each day between June 12 and July 23. Contract data courtesy spotrac.com.

DT DEAN LOWRY

Experience/age: 10th season, 31

Contract status: $3.125 million cap hit in 2025, after which scheduled for unrestricted free agency

The past: A fourth-round pick in 2016 out of Northwestern, Lowry spent seven seasons with the Green Bay Packers. He was a starter for 5 ½ of those seasons, playing more than half of the defensive snaps during an era in which the Packers were perennial contenders with now-Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Lowry was regarded highly enough that he was given a three-year, $20.32 million contract extension that covered the 2020-2022 seasons. But Lowry left after the 2022 season, signing a two-year, $8.5 million deal with the rival Minnesota Vikings.

Though Lowry had missed only three games over his seven seasons with the Packers, he appeared in only nine of Minnesota’s 17 games in 2023. The Vikings cut Lowry last spring, and the Steelers scooped him up via a two-year, $5 million deal that split the cash evenly over both seasons.

Access Denied ⛔#TB to Dean Lowry's incredible finger-tip block#SteelersIreland#HereWeGo pic.twitter.com/wpmaOojBru

— Steelers Ireland (@SteelersIreland) March 7, 2025

2025 outlook: Coming off the 2023 pectoral injury, the 6-foot-6, 296-pound Lowry opened last year’s training camp on the physically unable to perform list. He was cleared to practice 2 ½ weeks into camp and opened the regular season on the active roster. But he was a gameday inactive for the first two games of the season in addition to the last two games of the season. In between, he played 12 of the Steelers’ 13 games, usually well under a quarter of the team’s defensive snaps. For the season, Lowry had five tackles (one solo), one sack and one batted-down ball. A season highlight was a block of a 35-yard field goal attempt by the New York Jets’ Greg Zuerlein.

Lowry was a cut candidate this spring, especially after the Steelers spent two of their first four draft picks on defensive linemen. As it was, the Steelers released older linemen Larry Ogunjobi and Montravius Adams; they could have also shed Lowry’s $2.5 million salary in 2025. And the Steelers still might, if a host of younger players show they are ready for roles. But, if his body doesn’t break down, Lowry is a good bet to stick as a backup. He might even be a frequent healthy scratch if the unit avoids injury. But at this stage of his career, Lowry is a good insurance policy to have.