The Pittsburgh Steelers’ trip to Ireland got off to a scary start on Friday night when backup QB Skylar Thompson was jumped and robbed. Per NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero, Thompson, who’s currently on IR, suffered minor injuries but is “ok and with the team.”
Steelers senior director of communications Burt Lauten said the team is working with NFL Security to gather more information about the incident.
“We are aware of a situation involving Skylar Thompson on Friday night in Dublin. We will have no further comment at this time as we are working with NFL security to gather more information regarding the incident,” Lauten said in a statement via Pelissero.
That’s obviously not how the Steelers wanted to start their experience in Ireland. The team is staying at the Carton House, which is approximately 30-plus minutes away from Dublin, but many players brought friends and family to the game and went to meet up with them on Friday. Thompson can’t play in the game because he is on IR, so it makes sense that he was looking to take advantage of the trip and explore Ireland.
Thompson suffered a hamstring injury ahead of Week 1 and wound up being placed on IR. After signing a reserve/futures deal with the Steelers in January, Thompson had a strong preseason. With QB Will Howard going on IR due to a thumb injury, Thompson got the nod as Pittsburgh’s third quarterback. He has prior experience as a starter with the Miami Dolphins, as he started two regular-season games and a playoff game for Miami in 2022, with the team dealing with injuries, and one game last season.
It sounds as if things could’ve been worse, and it’s great news that Thompson only suffered minor injuries. It’s unknown yet if it’s anything that could affect his timeline for coming off IR, but that’s the last of his and the Steelers’ worries right now. It’s not the type of news anyone wants to see, and it casts a little bit of a cloud over the NFL’s first-ever regular-season game in Dublin.
The good news is that Thompson is still with the team, and the incident wasn’t worse. It’s the type of event that can certainly affect a team’s focus and preparation heading into a game, but having Thompson with his team could help rally the troops as the Steelers look to go 3-1 today.
UPDATE (12:02 PM): The NFLPA has released a statement on the Thompson incident, offering its support after he was injured in the robbery.
“We are aware of the incident involving Skylar Thompson in Ireland and are relieved to know he is okay. The NFLPA is actively gathering more information and working to understand the full circumstances surrounding what took place. As always, our priority is the health and safety of our player members — especially as we continue to work on player protections and well-being while playing international games — and we will continue to support Skylar in any way he needs.”
