Pittsburgh Steelers rookie OT Troy Fautanu was injured during the team’s preseason opener against the Houston Texans, and ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported today that Fautanu suffered a mild MCL sprain that isn’t considered serious.
The biggest question is how much the injury will impact Fautanu’s practice time. If he has to miss time in the coming days, it could affect his chances of cracking the starting lineup for Pittsburgh’s Week 1 matchup against the Atlanta Falcons.
Fautanu played 25 snaps last night, all at right tackle, but he just started working more with the first-team offense in practice last week. He’s still listed as a second-string tackle on the depth chart, and not practicing and potentially missing the team’s second preseason tilt against the Buffalo Bills could wind up being detrimental.
Obviously, it’s good news that the injury isn’t serious, and we’ll see if Fautanu even misses any time. His last snap came on Pittsburgh’s final play of the first half and there was no apparent injury during the game. Nor did the team report one until after the game when Mike Tomlin told reporters following his press conference.
If Fautanu does miss time, then that will likely lead to more snaps for Broderick Jones at right tackle with Dan Moore Jr. at left tackle, which was the tackle alignment for the second half of the 2023 season. If Fautanu plays well enough, the Steelers could move Jones to left tackle, where he’s been receiving more work in practice. He played 25 snaps at left tackle in the preseason opener while receiving 17 at right tackle.
Jones’ flexibility to play either side is nice, but long-term the Steelers want him at left tackle, and making that transition sooner rather than later would be beneficial. We’ll find out in the coming weeks how much, if at all, Fautanu’s injury could impact that plan and the starting offensive line early in the season.
Tomlin said he’ll give an update tomorrow, and we’ll see if Fautanu is on the field when the Steelers return to practice at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Pa.
