Pittsburgh Steelers rookie offensive tackle Troy Fautanu is expected to be sidelined “indefinitely” with the knee injury he suffered during Friday’s practice, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports.
Teammate Broderick Jones said Fautanu “tweaked something” during Friday’s practice and was scheduled for an MRI. The exact nature of the injury still isn’t known, but it doesn’t sound like Fautanu will return anytime soon. Pittsburgh officially listed him as questionable on their Friday injury report.
While that may have struck an optimistic tone, the last-second nature of the injury and the need for further testing and evaluation likely led to that tag until the team gathered more information. It wouldn’t be a surprise if the team downgraded his status today. Given Schefter’s language, an injured reserve stint also seems plausible. That would shelve him for at least the next four games.
At the least, Pittsburgh will need to make a roster elevation to have eight linemen dress for tomorrow’s game against the Los Angeles Chargers, allowing them to have a 48-man gameday roster.
It’s the second knee injury he’s suffered over the last six weeks, spraining his MCL in the preseason opener and missing the remainder of the summer. It’s unknown if this injury is the same left knee he had previously injured. Before the draft, there were rumblings over Fautanu having knee concerns although it’s not clear if they’re related to the injuries he’s dealt with since being drafted.
With Fautanu sidelined, Jones is expected to resume his role as the Steelers’ starting right tackle. Jones had been benched last week after multiple penalties scrapped an attempted rotation between the two. Now, Jones will be asked to bounce back immediately. He’ll be greeted with the tough task of slowing down Chargers EDGE rushers Khalil Mack and Joey Bosa, who have already combined for 3.5 sacks on the league’s best statistical defense through the first two weeks of the 2024 season.
