The Pittsburgh Steelers had a player go down with a serious injury on Wednesday.
According to Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network, Steelers defensive lineman Lavon Hooks suffered an Achilles injury during practice and is now out for the season.
Hooks, who originally entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent with the Green Bay Packers out of Mississippi, first signed with the Steelers in February of 2016. After his release from the Steelers that September, Hooks remained unsigned the entire season.
The Steelers re-signed Hooks in February of 2017 and while he was cut again prior to the start of that regular season, he did land on the team’s practice squad and remained on that unit the entire season.
The Steelers re-signed Hooks again in February of 2018 and while he was again failed t make the final roster cut, he was once again signed to the team’s practice squad and once again remained on that unit the entire season.
In this year’s first two preseason games, Hooks registered just one tackle. Last year during the preseason he recorded seven total tackles of which two were sacks.
Hooks was a longshot to make the Steelers 53-man roster this year. Now that he’s out for the season, fellow defensive lineman Henry Mondeaux has a much better chance to make the team’s practice should he not make the final roster.
Hooks will now be placed on the Steelers Reserve/Injured list in the coming days and have surgery to repair his torn Achilles. His injury is the most serious one the Steelers have sustained all offseason. The Steelers might decide to sign another defensive lineman to take Hook’s place on the roster to help get them through their final two preseason games.
