Pittsburgh Steelers first-round pick OT Troy Fautanu suffered a knee injury in his NFL debut Friday night against the Houston Texans. Though the team didn’t announce an in-game injury and Mike Tomlin didn’t mention Fautanu in his post-game press conference, Tomlin noted the injury after leaving the presser podium.
Per ESPN’s Brooke Pryor, Tomlin (or perhaps Fautanu; it’s unclear who the below tweet refers to) said he was unsure of its severity.
Troy Fautanu did not start but entered the game at right tackle for the Steelers’ second possession of the game. He impressed as a run blocker, including pulling and making a block in space on a toss play, but struggled in pass protection. Veteran Danielle Hunter beat him for a sack around the edge to take down QB Justin Fields while Fautanu also gave up a pressure on an inside/bull rush later in the game.
Fautanu’s injury is perhaps one reason why Broderick Jones played right tackle well into the second half. Jones began the game at right tackle before flipping to left tackle on the second series, replacing Dan Moore Jr.
Throughout the summer, Troy Fautanu had been competing for the starting right tackle job. Pittsburgh had given him first-team reps throughout the week. Now, he’ll have to hope to have avoided a serious knee injury that could disrupt his rookie season. If Fautanu misses extended time, Moore figures to remain the Steelers’ starting left tackle while Jones will stay on the right side.
Per the Trib’s Chris Adamski, Fautanu had a brace on his left knee/lower leg.
Pittsburgh plays the Buffalo Bills next week. Their season opener is less than one month away against the Atlanta Falcons, a Sept. 8 contest on the road.
