I almost wrote this article back at the start of the month. A Pittsburgh Steelers O-line that enjoyed unusually good health was finally being beaten up. But the group was returning healthier, and they seemed to have weathered the storm. Turns out, regression to the mean is a witch, and Pittsburgh is battening down the hatches.
Troy Fautanu’s injury is the latest blow, his second knee injury in the last six weeks. It’s unclear when he’ll return, but it sure doesn’t sound like anytime soon. The more we hear about his injury, the worse the prognosis appears. If you can stomach it, a recap of the laundry list of O-line injuries since the team reported to training camp.
OT Broderick Jones – “Multiple” Injuries To Right Arm/Elbow
OT Troy Fautanu – MCL Sprain In August, Knee Injury In September
C Nate Herbig – Torn Rotator Cuff, Out For Season
OG Isaac Seumalo – Pectoral Strain, Out First Three Weeks
OT Dylan Cook – Foot Injury, Out At Least First Four Weeks
It’s a shorter list to name the linemen who haven’t been hurt. It is a stark contrast to the past two seasons when Pittsburgh’s line was as healthy as any in football. In 2022, the Steelers had the same starting five for all 17 games. Last year, they weren’t quite as spotless but largely available. Isaac Seumalo and Mason Cole didn’t miss a game, while the only change at right tackle came by team choice, sitting Chukwuma Okorafor for Broderick Jones. Right guard James Daniels missed two games while Dan Moore Jr. effectively did the same, hurt early in Week 4 against the Houston Texans before returning in after the bye for Week 7. Overall, the injuries were bumps in the road.
This year? They’re spike strips. Repeated injuries capable of putting holes in the tires and the Steelers’ offense running on the rims. It might best be viewed from Chopper Cam rather than CBS.
To put things in perspective, across 2022 and 2023, the starting five offensive line officially missed three combined starts. When the team takes the field Sunday against the Chargers, they’ll have already missed a combined four of them (Seumalo three, Fautanu one), and that’s not even assuming Herbig wouldn’t have started Week 1 had he stayed healthy.
Eventually, Pittsburgh’s luck was going to catch up and run out. It’s done so in dramatic fashion to begin the season, forcing this overall young line to figure things out on the fly. Even so, the offense has shown levels of progress and improvement with steady quarterback play and a more competent coordinator more capable of handling these injury wrenches. There’s also good news in Seumalo returning as soon as next week, while Cook is eligible to play as early as Week 5. He’d become the team’s swing tackle.
Still, the Steelers were banking on a healthy and strong offensive line to lead the way, pave lanes for RBs Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren, and protect Russell Wilson and/or Justin Fields, two of the most-sacked quarterbacks since their respective drafts. That mission has gotten much messier and harder with the slew of injuries they’ve endured.
