Troy Fautanu made his preseason debut with the Pittsburgh Steelers on Friday. He checked in for the third offensive drive and played the rest of the first half. He did not play another snap, which didn’t raise any eyebrows at the time, as they start to get guys playing time at the bottom of the depth chart late in preseason games. But after Mike Tomlin’s press conference, he notified the media that Fautanu had suffered a knee injury.
Jeremy Fowler later reported that the injury was a mild MCL sprain. Based on that language, we can probably assume that it was a Grade 1 sprain, which typically requires a one—or two-week recovery. Tomlin will give an update after today’s practice for the first time, so we will know more then.
As the team broke for lunch and had a brief media availability today before practice, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Ray Fittipaldo reported on X that Fautanu was wearing a brace on his left leg.
“Troy Fautanu walked into the cafeteria with a big knee brace on his left leg,” Fittipaldo wrote. “He didn’t stop to speak with reporters.”
TribLive’s Joe Rutter noted on X that he is wearing the brace on top of a black protective sleeve on his leg.
The Steelers’ 2024 first-round pick had a bit of an up-and-down preseason debut. In 25 total snaps on offense, Fautanu allowed two pressures, including one sack by DE Danielle Hunter of the Houston Texans. He did show the ability to move out in space and block out in the open field. While a little rough, it is nothing to be too concerned about in a rookie preseason debut.
The injury is a setback for his chances of being the Week 1 starter. If he is unable to practice for a week, and certainly if he misses the preseason game against the Buffalo Bills next Saturday, it will be very difficult for him to state his case as the starter by the regular season opener. This would leave Broderick Jones on the right side and Dan Moore Jr. on the left.
