UPDATE: Per Burt Lauten, Loudermilk has been ruled out with an ankle injury.
The Steelers will turn to Yahya Black in his absence as Pittsburgh continues to try and figure out how to stop the run. Mike Tomlin will likely offer an update on Loudermilk’s status after the game.
Our original story is below.
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An already-banged-up Pittsburgh Steelers defense saw DL Isaiahh Loudermilk go down with an ankle injury on the team’s first defensive drive in Week 2 against the Seattle Seahawks. Loudermilk, who replaced Derrick Harmon in the starting lineup with Harmon dealing with a knee injury, is questionable to return with an ankle injury per Steelers senior director of communications Burt Lauten.
With Loudermilk out of the game for now, he’ll be replaced by rookie fifth-round pick Yahya Black. Black played 24 snaps in Week 1 and had two pressures on seven pass-rush snaps. It’s a good opportunity for him to state his clase for more playing time, but losing Loudermilk is a blow to Pittsburgh’s depth and defensive front.
Last week, Loudermilk played 31 snaps but didn’t log any stats. He was one of Pittsburgh’s lowest-graded defenders with a 39.3 overall grade, but the team trusted him enough to give him another start today.
He’s a solid run defender and with DL Esezi Otomewo inactive today along with Harmon, the Steelers don’t have a lot of depth along their defensive line. It could be a good sign that Loudermilk wasn’t ruled out immediately, and we’ll keep an eye on if he returns to today’s game.
This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
