Steelers A to Z: Isaiahh Loudermilk offers D-line depth in 5th season

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 ISAIAHH LOUDERMILK

Experience/age: Fifth season, 27

Contract status: $1.337 million cap hit on a one-year deal for 2025

The past: The Steelers liked Loudermilk so much after he came out of Wisconsin for the 2021 draft that they traded a fourth-round pick the following year for the right to acquire a fifth-round pick that they used to spend on Loudermilk that year. Despite a mere five starts in the four seasons since, the Steelers continue to like Loudermilk enough that they re-signed him this March upon the expiration of his standard rookie contract.

Loudermilk has appeared in 61 of the Steelers’ 71 games since he entered the NFL, missing more than two in a season just once. During the games he has played in his career, Loudermilk has appeared in slightly more than 20% of their defensive snaps. His special-teams usage spiked last season, when the new kickoff rule lent itself to bigger bodies on kickoff coverage and Loudermilk obliged. For his career, Loudermilk has 63 tackles (38 solo, one for loss), a sack and six batted-down balls. Loudermilk at times has practiced at outside linebacker, though he has rarely lined up at the position during a live game.

“Everything’s kind of become a little bit more second nature in terms of playing,” Isaiahh Loudermilk said. “I can feel things and I can see things that I haven’t seen the last couple years, and I am able to get into (the play) quicker."@C_AdamskiTribhttps://t.co/oHZahI3nWk

— Tribune-Review Sports (@TribSports) June 2, 2024

2025 outlook: Loudermilk is a gregarious presence in the locker room and popular with coaches because of his work ethic and that he’s amenable to anything. At this point, he’s never going to be a star — or even a starter — but Loudermilk has been reliable and workmanlike in the Steelers’ d-line group for four years.

Last season, only three defensive linemen played more snaps for the Steelers, a sign of his quiet contributions. The Steelers discarded two of their veteran defensive linemen (Larry Ogunjobi, Montravius Adams) over the spring but brought in two draft picks (first-rounder Derrick Harmon and fifth-round pick Yahya Black) in addition to two veteran free agents (Daniel Ekuale and Esezi Otomewo). Still, expect Loudermilk to stick and play the same under-the-radar complementary role he has throughout a half decade.