It's 'back to the drawing board' for NT Tyson Alualu after losing his starting job with Steelers

Tyson Alualu met with coach Mike Tomlin on Wednesday morning to learn the reasons he has been demoted to second string on the Pittsburgh Steelers depth chart.

A day earlier, Montravius Adams was listed as the first-team nose tackle, a pronouncement that comes at the expense of Alualu, who has started 26 games in six seasons with the Steelers. He is the first starter to be demoted on offense or defense this season.

“It’s more about getting back to playing like I know how I can and doing that consistently,” Alualu said. “It’s back to the drawing board and seeing where I get better from here.”

Alualu’s benching comes on the heels of the Steelers allowing a season-high 171 yards rushing in a 29-17 loss at Cleveland. It was the seventh time in the past 12 regular season games that the Steelers yielded 150 or more. Alualu, though, was not on the field for the first six of those games. He missed the final 15 games last season because of an ankle injury, and the layoff may have contributed to Alualu losing his starting job to Adams.

At 35, Alualu also is the oldest player on the Steelers roster.

“It’s a production business,” Alualu said. “It’s frustrating, but this is one of those humbling experiences. I have to find out ways to come out better than this, and I know if I work on bettering myself, it will be better for the team.”

The way the Steelers rotate their defensive linemen, Alualu won’t totally disappear from the defense. Adams, for instance, played 15 snaps at Cleveland as the backup nose tackle.

“You continue to put in the work and earn the trust of your coaches and teammates to do what you need to do,” Alualu said. “I have all the confidence in the world that I can do that.”