Two weeks from now, the Pittsburgh Steelers could avoid seeing one of the NFL’s top offensive tackles. According to Fox Sports’ Jordan Schultz, New York Giants star LT Andrew Thomas suffered what is believed to be a serious foot injury that could require season-ending surgery.
Per Schultz, Thomas is getting a second opinion but is likely to miss substantial time, if not the entire 2024 season.
For a Giants’ offense already struggling with him, it would handicap them even more. Through six weeks, New York’s offense is ranked 29th in scoring and 31st in rushing yards per carry, while QB Daniel Jones has thrown just two more touchdowns (six) than interceptions (four).
Pittsburgh has had a string of avoiding top offensive and defensive linemen. They didn’t have to deal with the Dallas Cowboys’ duo of DL/EDGE Micah Parsons and Demarcus Lawrence. They already won’t see Giants’ DE Kayvon Thibodeaux in Week 8, will miss Washington Commanders DT Jonathan Allen in Week 10, and are poised to skate past Thomas two weeks from now.
Thomas, the fourth overall pick of the 2020 draft, struggled early in his career but has been one of the NFL’s best tackles the past few seasons. PFF ranks him as the league’s 16th-best tackle this season, and he finished in the top 20 last year.
It would be a major boost to ROLB Alex Highsmith’s matchup, who should be back in the lineup after missing multiple weeks with a groin injury. During his Tuesday press conference, Mike Tomlin indicated he was optimistic that Highsmith would play against the New York Jets this weekend.
Without Andrew Thomas, the Giants could turn to former third-round pick Joshua Ezeudu. He’s appeared in six games this season but logged only three offensive snaps, which would be a considerable downgrade from Thomas.
