Free agent defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi is headed back to the Steelers on a three-year deal that will pay him $21.75 million in the first two years, a source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Tuesday.
An AFC North journeyman, Ogunjobi spent the 2022 season with the Steelers after signing a one-year, $8 million deal with them in free agency.
Ogunjobi, brought in to help replace Stephon Tuitt, was often on the practice injury report for a variety of lower-body ailments, including knee, back and toe injuries. He missed only one game, but he was rarely healthy. Even so, Ogunjobi was a crucial piece of the run defense.
Ogunjobi, 28, started 16 games and had 48 tackles, 7 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and 11 quarterback hits.
Before last year, Ogunjobi spent one season with the Cincinnati Bengals and four with the Browns after being a third-round selection by Cleveland in 2017. In his single season with the Bengals, Ogunjobi had a career-high seven sacks and 16 quarterback hits. He parlayed that season into a three-year, $40.5 million contract with the Chicago Bears, but a failed physical voided the deal and eventually landed him in Pittsburgh.
In six NFL seasons, the University of Charlotte product has 79 starts, 277 tackles, 23 sacks and 64 quarterback hits.
