Steelers First-Round Draft Pick Reportedly Avoids Worst-Case Scenario

The Pittsburgh Steelers had a scary moment in their preseason opener against the Houston Texans on Friday night.

Pittsburgh fell against the Texans 20-12 but most important, offensive lineman Troy Fautanu suffered a knee injury. He was selected by Pittsburgh with the 20th overall pick in the first round of the 2024 National Football League Draft. Fautanu is expected to play a major role with the Steelers in 2024 but it was nerve-wracking when he went down with his injury.

Luckily, he avoided the worst-case scenario and reportedly just suffered a “minor MCL sprain,” according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.

“Steelers OL Troy Fautanu suffered a minor MCL sprain in Friday’s preseason opener, per source,” Fowler said. “Not considered serious for Pittsburgh’s first-rounder.”

To make matters better, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac reported that he will just miss two weeks.

“Rookie Troy Fautanu is expected to be out two weeks with a knee injury sustained Friday night,” Dulac said. He is ok.”

Preseason games officially are here and we likely will see even more injuries in the not-so-distant future. The 2024 season is just a few weeks away so hopefully the Steelers can stay as healthy as possible leading up to it. There’s a lot to like about Pittsburgh and Fautanu will be an important player to monitor moving forward.

The fact that it already has been said that Fautanu is going to be alright certainly is a positive sign. He hopefully will help improve the the Steelers’ offensive line this season and we should see him back on the field soon.

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