After initially agreeing to terms with Jacksonville just 11 days ago, Steelers defensive lineman Tyson Alualu has decided to back out of his deal with the Jaguars in order to resign with Pittsburgh, according to Bryan DeArdo of CBS Sports. While Alualu and the Jags announced an agreement of a two-year contract worth $6 million on March 16, the lineman subsequently caught Covid-19, delaying his trip to Jacksonville to sign the deal.

During the subsequent week and a half, the Steelers embarked on a recruiting effort to convince Alualu to stay in Pittsburgh, which culminated Saturday afternoon in the surprise announcement that the lineman had, in fact, had a change of heart.

While the exact terms of the deal are not yet known, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network has revealed that the length of the contract will be two years, indicating that the parameters will be similar to those offered by the Jaguars.

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Originally drafted by Jacksonville in the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft, Alualu has spent the previous four years with the Steelers, accruing seven sacks and 16 tackles for loss during that time. For a team that has dealt with inconsistency on the football's offensive side, Alualu's presence helped catapult Pittsburgh's defense to a third-place finish in opponent's scoring.

The tackles return to Pittsburgh is also one less question mark for a franchise riddled with uncertainty heading into the 2021 season. Despite winning the AFC North division in 2020, the Steelers have multiple holes to fill on offense and wouldn't have been able to afford finding a replacement for Alualu.

As it turns out, Tyson Alualu just needed a little time to realize Pittsburgh was where he always wanted to be.