Steelers sign Keanu Neal to 2-year deal, add a defensive tackle

Mar 31, 2023 - 11:08 AM

As NFL free agency presses on, the Pittsburgh Steelers have added two more players to their 2023 offseason roster. According to agent David Canter of GSE Worldwide, the Pittsburgh Steelers have agreed to a two-year contract with safety Keanu Neal and have also come to terms with defensive tackle Breiden Fehoko.

It was reported earlier on Thursday that the Steelers were close to coming to terms with Keanu Neal. As outlined in the previous article, Neal is a former first-round pick of the Atlanta Falcons that has played seven NFL season with one Pro Bowl in 2017:

Neal played his first five seasons with the Atlanta Falcons, some of which were with Kazee in the secondary, and had two seasons which were marred by injury (2018 and 2019). After the 2020 season Neal went to the Dallas Cowboys for a season, and then in 2021 played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

In his career Neal has 3 interceptions, 20 pass defenses, 8 forced fumbles, 4 fumble recoveries, 2.5 sacks and 473 combine tackles. In other words, Neal is known for his play around the line of scrimmage as more of an “in the box” style safety.

The other player signed by the Pittsburgh Steelers was defensive tackle Braden Fehoko. The length of his contract has not been disclosed.

Undrafted out of LSU in 2020, Fehoko has spent his entire NFL career with the Los Angeles Chargers, mostly on the practice squad. Listed as a nose tackle by Pro Football Reference, Fehoko has 19 career games in three seasons with four starts. Over the last two seasons, Fehoko has 36 tackles with one being for loss. Additionally, Fehoko had three tackles in the Chargers 2022 postseason game.

Fehoko joins a Steelers defensive line room which already has seven players ahead of the 2023 NFL draft. Fehoko is listed at 6’2”, 295 pounds.

Stay tuned to Behind The Steel Curtain for continued coverage of the Pittsburgh Steelers 2023 offseason.