The Pittsburgh Steelers won their 2017 regular season opener Sunday afternoon by beating the Cleveland Browns 21-18 on the road but one of their defensive starters may have suffered a serious injury in the contest.
According to Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin, defensive end Stephon Tuitt suffered an left bicep injury early in the first quarter and he will be evaluated when the team returns to Pittsburgh.
“No real injuries to speak of other than Tuitt. He’s got a bicep injury,” Tomlin said after the game. “It will be evaluated either tonight or tomorrow morning. I’ll update you guys on Tuesday regarding that.”
Tuitt, who signed a five-year contract extension on Saturday, reportedly left the locker room after Sunday’s game without talking to the media with a wrap on his injured left shoulder.
The loss of Tuitt for any amount of time would be huge. The Steelers signed Tyson Alualu during the offseason and he would likely take over for Tuitt in the starting lineup should the former second-round draft pick miss any time with his injury.
While Tomlin didn’t mention any other players during his rundown of the injuries, new Steelers safety J.J. Wilcox had to leave the field late in the game after a helmet to helmet collision with Browns wide receiver Corey Coleman.
