PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Steelers released their first injury report of the season on Wednesday afternoon leading into their Week 1 matchup with the Atlanta Falcons, which painted a promising picture regarding the availability of several key players.
Left guard Isaac Seumalo, who started all 17 games for Pittsburgh in 2023, has been ruled out against Atlanta after suffering a pectoral injury during practice last week. The diagnosis, however, isn’t as severe as it once appeared.
“Isaac can be described as out this week, but we did get good news regarding his pec injury,” head coach Mike Tomlin said.
“We’ll characterize it as week-to-week and see where next week leads us, but really optimistic about his returning sooner rather than later.”
Seumalo was one of two players listed with a DNP (did not practice) designation alongside rookie defensive tackle Logan Lee. Second-year guard Spencer Anderson is expected to start in his place on Sunday.
Continuing with the offensive line theme, rookie first-round pick Troy Fautanu (limited) earned reps at tackle in Wednesday’s practice while he works his way back from an MCL sprain. He went down with the injury during the Steelers’ preseason bout with the Houston Texans on Aug. 9.
“I feel good,” Fautanu said. “Today was my first day getting reps versus somebody. Last practice did a lot of individual, but kind of progressing,
trusting the trainers, the doctors, the coaches that they’re going to take care of me. For me, it’s just trying to get that confidence back being out there.”
It’s unlikely that he will supplant either Dan Moore Jr. or Broderick Jones at one of the tackle spots this week, though he could enter the starting lineup sooner rather than later if he continues to progress at an accelerated pace.
Rookie wide receiver Roman Wilson (limited) did not play this preseason while dealing with an ankle injury that arose at the beginning of training camp,
but he was in action on Wednesday as well. Tomlin stated that his availability against the Falcons hinges on how the rest of the week shapes out.
“We’ll see,” Tomlin said. “That’s what the week of work is about.”
Running back Jaylen Warren (limited) left in the first half of Pittsburgh’s contest against the Buffalo Bills on Aug. 17 with a hamstring injury and was not available the following week against the Detroit Lions for the preseason finale.
It’s all systems go for him ahead of Week 1, however, where he should see a healthy split of touches with Najee Harris due to their complementary thunder-and-lightning skill sets in the offense’s first regular season game under Arthur Smith.
Cornerback Cory Trice Jr. (limited) participated a week-and-a-half after suffering a groin injury against Detroit. A seventh-round pick in 2023, he could make his NFL debut against the Falcons after missing all of last season with a torn ACL.
On the Atlanta front, tight end Kyle Pitts was limited with a hamstring injury while linebacker Nate Landman carried the same designation due to a quadricep issue.
Leave a Reply