Lowry brings experience to Steelers’ defensive line group
When Dean Lowry embarked on free agency this spring for what would be his ninth NFL season, he certainly wasn’t figuring he would end up on a team where he would be the third-oldest defensive lineman.
“I kind of like that,” Lowry said after a Pittsburgh Steelers organized team activities session Tuesday, “because in most places I would be definitely the ‘old guy.’ Having some guys that have a lot of experience here, it kind of was I just fit right in.”
Lowry turns 30 late next week – six days after Larry Ogunjobi likewise hits the big 3-0. Additionally, Montravius Adams will be 29 by the time training camp opens in July.
Each is a mere neophyte compared with unit leader Cameron Heyward, the 14year veteran who turned 35 this month.
In the NFL since 2016 and joining his third team in the Steelers, Lowry said this is the most experienced defensive line unit he’s been a part of.
“That definitely plays to our strengths,” said Lowry, who is on a two-year, $5 million contract. “It’s about experience and about knowing how to prepare your body for a 17week schedule. And I think that’s irreplaceable.”
Lowry’s experience spans 120 pro games with 84 starts. His résumé indicates reliability, missing only one of the first 112 games the Green Bay Packers played after they drafted him in the fourth round out of Northwestern in 2016.
Lowry has accumulated 15 ½ sacks, 266 tackles (143 solo, 23 for loss), 34 QB hits and 17 batted-down balls in his career. His best statistical season was 2021, when he had five sacks, four batted-down balls, five tackles for loss and nine QB hits.
With the Steelers, he joins a defensive line that includes starters Heyward – who is skipping the voluntary OTAs – Ogunjobi and 2023 second- round pick Keeanu Benton. Eight-year veteranAdams, four-year pros Isaaiahh Loudermilk and Breiden Fehoko, third-year DeMarvin Leal and rookie sixth-round pick Logan Lee are the other leading candidates for the rotation.
“It’s a good mix of guys who have been fun to be around and even learn from every single day,” Lowry said.
“Even without Cam, it’s a very competitive room, a lot of guys who have experience and some young talent, so every day guys bring it. (Defensive line coach Karl Dunbar) has done a good job of rolling guys in and getting everyone looks with each other.”
Lowry is looking for bounceback after one season with the Minnesota Vikings, with which he signed a two-year, $8.5 million contract last March. A pectoral injury limited him to nine games, and Lowry finished with no sacks or tackles for loss.
Lowry said the schematics in Pittsburgh are very similar to what he played over the seven seasons with the Packers – much more so than what he experienced in Minnesota.
Versatile enough to play any spot in the Steelers’ scheme, Lowry has experience playing up and down the defensive line from the 5-technique (over an opposing tackle) all the way back in to the “nose” over the center.
“It’s been great to have him so far,” Loudermilk said. “He’s been in the league for a while, so he sees things that a younger guy wouldn’t see. And I feel like that’s shown so far in OTAs. I will ask him questions on things he sees; he has that reputation that he knows things.”
