On the last practice before the long weekend, OG Isaac Seumalo suffered a pectoral injury. Fortunately he avoided anything major, but the ramifications could have been pretty significant for the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offensive line had he missed the entire season. Steelers insider Gerry Dulac believes that it could have resulted in first-round OT Troy Fautanu being moved to guard.
“If Seumalo’s injury required surgery and caused him to miss the entire season, it is likely the Steelers would have moved Fautanu to guard,” Dulac wrote via Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “But, in the short term, they do not have plans to do that.”
Fautanu suffered an injury of his own during the preseason opener. It was reportedly just a mild MCL sprain, but it forced him to miss the rest of the preseason.
In this hypothetical scenario, Fautanu moving to guard would put a strain on the depth all across the offensive line. The tackle position had good depth after drafting two in the first round of the last two drafts. They also had Dylan Cook, but he was placed on IR designated to return. The center position is thin right now with Nate Herbig’s injury. A long-term Seumalo injury likely would have called for outside help.
It also would have muddied the waters with Fautanu and his long-term development as a tackle. The Steelers insisted they drafted him to be a tackle back when he was drafted. This was despite many draft experts dubbing him a guard because he is a little short for an NFL tackle, though his arm length makes up for it.
Thankfully, we don’t have to go down that rabbit hole with Seumalo expected to be out 3-4 weeks. So far, they haven’t placed him on IR, which is good news for a possible quick return.
Seumalo is expected to start practicing on Monday almost a full month after his injury. At one point, Dulac reported that Troy Fautanu was expected to be the Week 1 starter, but his slow return to practice leaves that up in the air. He will need to be a full participant when they begin practicing this week to have a chance, but it will likely be Dan Moore Jr. on the left side and Broderick Jones on the right.
