Veteran defensive lineman Tyson Alualu has signed a third two-year contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers. The team announced the signing Thursday, five days after word leaked that the soon-to-be 34-year-old had reneged on a deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars to return to the Steelers.

The deal has been reported to be worth $6 million, mirroring almost exactly the contracts Alualu signed in 2017 and 2019 with the Steelers after he’d spent his first seven seasons with Jacksonville.

According to the NFL Network, Alualu tested positive for covid-19 after agreeing to terms with the Jaguars as the NFL free-agency period began last month. That prevented him from traveling to Jacksonville to sign the contract and allowed time for him to re-consider and elect not to again uproot his family.

Alualu played more last season for the Steelers than he did during any of his previous three seasons with the team, making 10 starts and appearing in 44% of the defensive snaps despite missing a game because of a knee injury.

— Tribune-ReviewSports (@TribSports) September 6, 2020

Playing as the No. 1 nose tackle and the top reserve behind Cameron Heyward and Stephon Tuitt, Alualu had 38 tackles (17 solo, 4 for loss, 2 sacks) with five quarterback hits. A former No. 10 overall draft pick, Alualu was lauded as having one of the best seasons of his career in 2020.

After Heyward and Tuitt, the Steelers had precious little experienced depth on the defensive line (most notably, Isaiah Buggs, Henry Mondeaux and Carlos Davis), so keeping Alualu was thought to be a priority.

Over 62 games (22 starts) for the Steelers, Alualu has 140 tackles, 15 QB hits, 15 tackles for loss, eight pass defenses, seven sacks and two forced fumbles.

In 172 career games (109 starts), he has 397 tackles, 66 QB hits, 45 tackles for loss, 24 ½ sacks, 14 pass defenses, four forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries.

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