Steelers Defender Reveals Details of Major Injury

The Pittsburgh Steelers were without the services of defensive end DeMarvin Leal for much of last season as he suffered a season ending injury during Week 5 of the 2024 season during Sunday Night Football against the Dallas Cowboys.

Now, Leal is participating in OTAs with the Steelers for the coming season, and seems to be in good health.

After starting his career as an interior lineman, Leal was playing his first season as a defensive end during the 2024 campaign, playing outside linebacker as well while coming off of the edge. The third round pick from the 2022 NFL Draft had seemed to have found his rhythm, but that was cut short early in the season.

Leal has made six starts in his NFL career, and has amassed 33 tackles to this point.

Now, while at OTAs, Leal was able to speak on just how severe his injury was and how tough the process of recovery was in order to get back to NFL level health.

“Basically had a bone spur and scoliosis in the back of my neck that they had to get out,” Leal said via Aaron Becker of SteelersNow. “About six to seven weeks of bed rest. Another three or four without any contact or anything. Maybe like last month I was finally cleared.”

Now, Leal will have to deal with a relatively large group of competitors for his position this offseason. The Steelers believed the need for a defensive end was so high, they used their top selection in the 2025 NFL draft to look to fix their need at the position, selecting Derrick Harmon.

Now, Leal will have to compete against Harmon, Isaiahh Loudermilk and others in order to secure a spot for himself on the 53-man roster come the regular season.