The Pittsburgh Steelers wrapped up their fifth OTA practice of 2018 a little while ago and the session included an offensive lineman getting injured.
According to Steelers guard Ramon Foster at the conclusion of Wednesday’s practice, third-year tackle Jerald Hawkins left the field during the OTA session with a knee injury. He suffered that injury during a non-contact drill.
“I didn’t see it at all,” Foster said, according to Ray Fittipaldo of the Post-Gazette. “I just heard him screaming.”
Hawkins, who was drafted in the fourth-round of the 2016 NFL Draft out of LSU, played sparingly last season and mostly as an extra offensive lineman on the end of the line of scrimmage. He also spent his rookie season on the Steelers Reserve/Injured list as a result of a shoulder injury.
It probably won’t take too long for a report to surface regarding the seriousness of Hawkins’ knee injury. Hopefully it turns out to not be a season-ender. Hawkins was seemingly battling to become the Steelers swing tackle this season.
The Steelers did draft tackle Chukwuma Okorafor out of Western Michigan this year after losing Chris Hubbard via free agency.
