Tanielu "Daniel" Ekuale (born January 13, 1994) is a Samoan professional

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...

for the

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of the

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(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Washington State Cougars The Washington State Cougars (known informally as the Cougs) are the sport, athletic teams that represent Washington State University. Located in Pullman, Washington, WSU is a member of the Pac-12 Conference in NCAA Division I. The athletic pr ...

Early life

Ekuale was born and grew in

Pago Pago Pago Pago ( or ; Samoan language, Samoan: )Harris, Ann G. and Esther Tuttle (2004). ''Geology of National Parks''. Kendall Hunt. Page 604. . is the capital of American Samoa. It is in Maoputasi County, American Samoa, Maoputasi County on Tutuila ...

American Samoa American Samoa is an Territories of the United States, unincorporated and unorganized territory of the United States located in the Polynesia region of the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific Ocean. Centered on , it is southeast of the island count ...

and attended Nuʻuuli Vocational Technical High School. He was rated the best college prospect for his class in American Samoa by most recruiting services and committed to play

Washington State University Washington State University (WSU, or colloquially Wazzu) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Pullman, Washington, United States. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest Land-grant uni ...

over offers from Oregon, Oregon State and Washington and after originally committing to play at

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

College career

Ekuale was a member of the

for five seasons, redshirting his true freshman season. He became a starter at nose tackle for the Cougars during his redshirt junior season, recording a career-high 23 tackles (2.5 for loss) and a sack. Ekuale entered his redshirt senior season on the watch list for the Polynesian College Football Player of the Year and made 17 tackles (3.5 for loss) and one sack while starting 12 of WSU's 13 games. He finished his collegiate career appearing in 51 games with 21 starts, with 71 total tackles (14 for loss) with three sacks and two forced fumbles.

Professional career

Cleveland Browns

Ekuale signed with the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

on May 4, 2018. He was waived at the end of training camp but re-signed to the Browns' practice squad on September 2, 2018. Ekuale was removed from the practice squad on December 6, 2018, after receiving a four-game suspension for violating the NFL's performance-enhancing substance policy. Ekuale signed a reserve/future contract with the Browns on January 2, 2019, and made the 53-man roster out of training camp. Ekuale made his NFL debut on September 8, 2019, against the

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. The Browns placed Ekuale on injured reserve after sustaining a calf injury while playing against the

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in Week 8. He finished the season with four tackles, one for a loss, in seven games played. Ekuale was waived by the Browns on September 5, 2020.

Jacksonville Jaguars

On September 8, 2020, Ekuale was signed to the

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practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on September 28, 2020. In Week 13 against the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

, Ekuale recorded his first career sack on

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during the 27–24 overtime loss. On August 31, 2021, Ekuale was waived by the Jaguars.

New England Patriots

On September 5, 2021, the

signed Ekuale to their practice squad. Ekuale spent the entire regular season on the Patriots' practice squad, but was elevated to the 53-man roster a total of eight times. On December 6, Ekuale had 2 tackles and sack in the Patriots 14–10 win over the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

. He signed a reserve/future contract with the Patriots on January 25, 2022. Ekuale was suspended the first two games of the 2022 season for violating the NFL's performance-enhancing substance policy. On March 23, 2023, Ekuale re-signed with the Patriots. He suffered a torn biceps in Week 3 and was placed on injured reserve on September 26. Ekuale started 16 contests for New England during the 2024 season, recording 52 combined tackles and one sack.

Pittsburgh Steelers

On March 16, 2025, Ekuale signed with the

References

External links

Pittsburgh Steelers bioWashington State Cougars bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ekuale, Daniel 1994 births Living people American football defensive tackles Cleveland Browns players Jacksonville Jaguars players New England Patriots players Players of American football from American Samoa Sportspeople from Pago Pago Washington State Cougars football players Pacific Islander American players of American football Pittsburgh Steelers players