Pittsburgh Steelers CB Grayland Arnold suffered an apparently knee injury during practice on Wednesday. Arnold hurt his knee on a kick return drill and had to come off the field, per Alex Kozora. He later left practice on a cart.
This was a big week for Arnold as he tried to make Pittsburgh’s 53-man roster and gain ground on rookie CB Beanie Bishop Jr., who’s listed as Pittsburgh’s starter at slot corner. Both Mike Tomlin and Teryl Austin preached the importance of this week for Arnold, who played just five snaps in Pittsburgh’s preseason opener against the Houston Texans.
Signed by Pittsburgh on June 4, Arnold played 113 reps in the slot for the Texans last season. His experience coupled with Cameron Sutton’s suspension made him a potential candidate for Pittsburgh’s slot corner job, and right now, it seems as if he and Bishop are the two guys fighting for that spot.
Hopefully, the injury isn’t serious and Arnold can work his way back into action for Saturday’s second preseason game against the Buffalo Bills. But any injury at this juncture is going to hurt his chances of making the roster, especially with him already missing time earlier in camp due to an injury. It’s going to be tough to climb the depth chart over Bishop if Arnold can’t return to the field, and it could lead to him not making it through roster cuts.
We’ll likely hear more from Mike Tomlin after practice on the injury’s severity and Arnold’s status going forward.
