The offensive tackle competition was thrown for a loop when first-round rookie Troy Fautanu suffered a knee injury during the preseason opener against the Houston Texans a few weeks ago. It has resulted in the team sticking with the status quo for now, that being Dan Moore Jr. on the left side and Broderick Jones on the right.
According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Brian Batko on X, Troy Fautanu appears to be making positive strides in his return from injury. Below he can be seen working on some pass sets at the beginning of practice. He is still wearing a brace on his left leg, and he isn’t wearing a helmet like some of his other teammates.
Just before this, 93.7 the Fan shared a video on X of Fautanu participating in the stretch and warm-up lines before practice.
His injury was reportedly a minor MCL sprain. The typical timetable for return is one or two weeks from this type of injury. It has already been more than that since the injury, but it is possible the Steelers are playing it safe with it still being the preseason.
The Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac reported that the Steelers viewed Fautanu as the Week 1 starter at right tackle prior to the injury. It is unclear if that is still the case since he missed so much time, but this is a step in the right direction.
Along with Fautanu, Roman Wilson can be seen in one of the Batko clips from above with a helmet on. He suffered an ankle injury on the first day of padded practice that was labeled week to week. He ended up missing the entire preseason, but he avoided being placed on IR to start the season with roster cutdowns yesterday.
The Steelers only kept five receivers, which is another strong indication that Wilson is close to fully returning. Since he missed so much time, he might need a few weeks in the regular season to start being worked into the rotation during games. Prior to his injury, he was really starting to show promise at training camp.
