The Steelers are now back at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex, facing down a long regular season that looks a lot more promising given how things have gone leading up to it. Finishing just above .500 last year, they anticipate being able to compete with any team in the league this season with second-year QB Kenny Pickett leading the way.
They’ve done a great deal to address what they identified as their shortcomings during the offseason, which included addressing the offensive and defensive lines as well as the secondary and the inside linebacker room, which is nearly entirely different from last year. The results have been positive so far.
Even well into the regular season and beyond, there are going to be plenty of questions that need answered. When will the core rookies get to play, or even start? Is the depth sufficient where they upgraded? Can they stand toe-to-toe with the Bengals and the other top teams in the league? We’ll try to frame the conversation in relevant ways as long as you stick with us throughout the season, as we have for many years.
Question: How much time will S Minkah Fitzpatrick miss?
In addition to actually losing the game yesterday, the Steelers also suffered two other significant losses. Both All-Pro S Minkah Fitzpatrick and QB Kenny Pickett exited the field of play due to injuries and did not return, the former a hamstring and the latter a rib.
The latter occurred second and generally appears likely to be the less serious. The former is likely to keep the veteran safety off the field for at least this upcoming Thursday game. The question is, how much time might he miss beyond that?
This is the third hamstring injury of significance suffered by a starter for the Steelers so far this season. The first two both wound up being placed on the Reserve/Injured List. WR Diontae Johnson missed five weeks (including the bye week) before returning. TE Pat Freiermuth will miss at least five weeks, assuming he is able to return as soon as he is eligible to be activated from the Reserve/Injured List.
So how much time will Fitzpatrick miss? He is scheduled to get an MRI on the injury, soon after which point the team should get a better sense of the severity. Will we get any new information from head coach Mike Tomlin about his status today? I probably won’t hold my breath.
It goes without saying that the last thing the Steelers can afford right now is another injury to a key defender. They have already gone most of the season without DL Cameron Heyward, who appears to be on the cusp of returning.
But being without Fitzpatrick is difficult. They have actually won without him—2-0 in the games he missed last year—but if this is a lingering injury, especially one that could land him on the Reserve/Injured List, that could spell very serious trouble.
