Steelers rookie right tackle Troy Fautanu will not play on Sunday against the Chargers.
Fautanu, the Steelers’ first-round pick this year, started at right tackle last week but suffered a knee injury on the practice field on Friday. The Steelers initially announced that he would be questionable, but today the team announced that Fautanu will miss the game.
How much time beyond Sunday Fautanu misses remains to be seen, but Adam Schefter of ESPN reported that Fautanu is expected to be sidelined indefinitely.
That’s a big loss for the Steelers, as Fautanu has been out-playing the Steelers’ other right tackle, Broderick Jones. Now the Steelers will have no choice but to put Jones back in against a Chargers defense that has played well the first two weeks of the season. Steelers quarterback Justin Fields, who has been one of the NFL’s worst quarterbacks at avoiding sacks throughout his career, may be on the run a lot on Sunday.
