Though Broderick Jones is coming off a miserable Week 2 performance that seemed destined to glue him to the bench for the Pittsburgh Steelers’ home opener, he might wind up in the starting lineup after all. Per The Trib’s Chris Adamski, Jones said rookie OT Troy Fautanu “tweaked something” during Friday’s practice. Jones finished the session taking first-team right tackle reps.
The nature and extent of the injury is unknown. Pittsburgh will soon issue its final injury report of the week that should list Fautanu’s injury and game status for Sunday against the Los Angeles Chargers.
Per ESPN’s Brooke Pryor, Jones said Fautanu was set to undergo an MRI, also telling her he doesn’t know what Fautanu’s status currently is.
Fautanu previously dealt with an MCL sprain that knocked him out for most of the preseason, suffering the injury in the preseason opener against the Houston Texans. Fautanu was healthy enough to dress in Week 1 but served as the team’s backup to Jones and LT Dan Moore Jr. Fautanu received the start last Sunday against the Denver Broncos as part of a planned rotation between him and Jones. Fautanu played the first two series before Jones came in. But after committing three penalties, Jones was pulled mid-drive and Fautanu finished the game.
Speaking to reporters yesterday, Jones owned up to his poor performance. Mike Tomlin vowed to give Jones a chance to rebound and with Fautanu’s status in question, that opportunity could come sooner than later.
Whoever starts at right tackle will have their hands full with Chargers EDGE rushers Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack, still two of the best pass rushers in football.
With OG Isaac Seumalo unlikely to play due to a pec injury, if Fautanu misses the Chargers game, the Steelers will have only seven healthy offensive linemen on their 53-man roster. NFL rules mandate dressing at least eight offensive linemen as part of a 46-man gameday roster, meaning Pittsburgh could elevate a lineman this weekend. John Leglue and Doug Nester are the two offensive linemen on the Steelers’ practice squad.
