After seven seasons with the Eagles, guard Isaac Seumalo (56) is headed across the state to play for the Steelers on a three-year, $24 million contract, which was announced Tuesday.
Chris Szagola | AP file photo
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PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Steelers have signed longtime Philadelphia Eagles guard Isaac Seumalo to a three-year, $24 million contract.
The deal, announced Tuesday, fortifies the interior of the Steelers offensive line as Pittsburgh builds around second-year quarterback Kenny Pickett.
The 29-year-old Seumalo, a Hawaii native who played at Oregon State, started 60 games across seven seasons with the Eagles, who selected him in the third round of the 2016 draft. Seumalo appeared in 81 games in all for Philadelphia and won a Super Bowl with the Eagles following the 2017 season.
Seumalo is considered an excellent run blocker, though he has improved in pass protection during his career. He allowed just one sack while playing 1,137 offensive snaps in 2022.
While Seumalo can play all three interior line positions, he seems a natural fit at left guard. Kevin Dotson started all 17 games at the position for Pittsburgh in 2022 but seems headed to a reserve role in 2023.
Seumalo is the second offensive line signing by the Steelers so far in free agency. Pittsburgh brought in former New York Jets lineman Nate Herbig last week. Herbig, who signed a two-year deal, figures to serve as a backup at several positions.
HIGHTOWER RETIRES
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Dont’a Hightower is making a quiet exit to a memorable career with the New England Patriots.
The veteran linebacker, who did not play last season, announced his retirement Tuesday in an essay posted on the Players’ Tribune website.
It ends a decade-long run in New England that began with the Patriots selecting him 25th overall in the 2012 draft. It included three Super Bowl rings (2014, 2016, 2018) and a pair of Pro Bowl selections (2016, 2019). He also was named a second-team All-Pro in 2016.
Hightower called his decision “a happy day.”
“People always ask what makes the Patriots culture so different. Easy answer: it was about professionalism, period. You knew that you had to show up every single day — not just physically but more so mentally,” he wrote. “We had a saying, ‘If you do it right, you do it light.’ Being good was expected. Being great might even get you a thumbs up from (coach) Bill (Belichick). Luckily, I knew a thing or two about that from my time at Alabama under Coach (Nick) Saban.
“For nine seasons, I lived that mentality 24/7. Today, I’m totally at peace knowing that I gave this franchise every ounce of sweat I had left.”
Hightower appeared in 117 games in his NFL career, amassing 27 sacks and 353 tackles.
With his wife expecting their first child, he opted to sit out the 2020 season because of concerns about COVID-19. He returned in 2021, but his production was down. He played in 15 games, logging 64 tackles and 1 1/2 sacks.
He became a free agent that summer but didn’t sign a new contract.
Hightower likely will be most remembered for tackling Seattle running back Marshawn Lynch on the 1-yard line late in the Super Bowl following the 2014 season. The play preceded Russell Wilson’s pass that was intercepted by Malcolm Butler in the end zone to clinch the Patriots’ 28-24 victory.
“When I saw Seattle line up in that I-form, I knew Beast Mode was getting it, and I knew they’d been gashing us with that strong-side lead all game,” Hightower recalled in his essay. “I knew he was going to walk through a huge hole if I didn’t take a risk. … I figured we had nothing to lose. So I ripped up under (Russell) Okung and shot my shot. All I saw was Marshawn’s two legs churning, and I just prayed to God that I could clip him up or something. I reached out … and you already know what happened next.”
Two seasons later, he came up big again in the Super Bowl. With the Patriots trailing the Falcons 28-12, his strip-sack of Atlanta’s Matt Ryan in the fourth quarter was recovered by Alan Branch. New England used a short field and scored to get within one possession. The Patriots ultimately tied it and capped off a historic comeback win in overtime.
“I’ll never get tired of inscribing ‘The Strip Sack’ on anything I sign,” Hightower wrote.
BILLS SIGN RB HARRIS
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — The Buffalo Bills restocked their offensive backfield by signing free agent Damien Harris to a one-year contract on Tuesday.
Harris spent his first four NFL seasons with the division-rival New England Patriots, and his signing comes a day after Buffalo lost starter Devin Singletary, who agreed to a deal with Houston.
Harris led the Patriots with 2,094 yards rushing and 20 TDs rushing since being selected in the third round of the draft out of Alabama. He also had 40 catches for 281 yards.
His best season came in 2021, when Harris finished with 929 yards rushing and scored 15 times, the second-most rushing TDs in a single season in team history. Three of his eight career 100-yard rushing games have come against Buffalo, including a career-best three-touchdown outing in a 33-21 loss on Dec. 26, 2021.
At 5-foot-11 and 213 pounds, Harris is projected to compete with second-year running back James Cook, and Nyheim Hynes, who was acquired by Buffalo in a trade with Indianapolis, to fill Singletary’s job as the Bills’ lead running back.