Pittsburgh Steelers DL Cameron Heyward left the game against the San Francisco 49ers late in the first quarter and is questionable to return with a groin injury, per team spokesman Burt Lauten.
The Steelers got off to a disastrous start, going down 10-0 and only gaining two yards on offense in the first quarter. Losing Heyward to injury would be another major blow on a day where nothing is going right. Heyward briefly returned to the game but then left again ahead of the 49ers scoring their second touchdown of the game and taking a 17-0 lead.
The fact that Heyward tried to return and had to come out again isn’t the best sign. We’ll see if he’s able to return to the game on Pittsburgh’s next defensive series. We will update as more information is known, but if the blowout continues it might be best to not risk further injury to one of Pittsburgh’s star defenders.
UPDATE (2:14 PM): Heyward returned to the game for one snap but he’s come back out and is being reevaluated by trainers.
UPDATE (2:57 PM) Heyward has been ruled out for the rest of the game per Lauten.
