The Steelers shall be with out their beginning proper sort out for the foreseeable future. Rookie Troy Fautanu injured his knee throughout Friday’s apply and is sidelined indefinitely, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
The lineman is ready to bear additional testing. Offensive sort out Broderick Jones advised reporters Friday that his teammate suffered “a bit tweak” to his knee (via ESPN’s Brooke Pryor).
The Steelers chosen Fautanu with the Twentieth-overall choose on this previous yr’s draft. The rookie was sidelined with an MCL damage throughout the preseason, and he didn’t find yourself seeing the sector for the crew’s season-opener. With Jones struggling at RT, coach Mike Tomlin stated the crew would possible rotate tackles throughout Week 2.
While Fautanu garnered the start, Tomlin did initially follow his rotational plan. Nevertheless, as Pryor factors out, Jones proceeded to commit three penalties in a six-play span, resulting in the rookie enjoying out the competition. Fautanu completed the sport stepping into 55 offensive snaps, with the lineman incomes reward from Professional Soccer Focus for his pass-blocking prowess.
With Fautanu now sidelined, the Steelers will possible flip again to Jones. Outdoors of LT Dan Moore Jr., the crew’s solely different wholesome offensive sort out is apply squad rookie Doug Nester. For what it’s price, Jones acknowledged his struggles by the primary two weeks, and Tomlin believes the previous first-round choose is prime for a rebound.
“He’s a proficient younger participant,” Tomlin stated (through Pryor). “I’m positive he suffered some disappointment when it comes to Troy beginning. It’s a pure factor, however he’s bought to maneuver previous it. I bought to offer him a possibility to maneuver previous it as a pacesetter.”