Troy Fautanu’s brief exit Sunday looked harmless in the moment. By Wednesday, it carried a lot more weight.
The Steelers listed Fautanu with an ankle injury after he didn’t practice, and that immediately put the tackle situation under a brighter, harsher spotlight. If this is the dreaded high-ankle sprain, the concern level jumps fast. Beat writers at practice noted Dylan Cook working on the left side, which points to Max Iheanachor being in line for his first start if Fautanu can’t play.
That wouldn’t be the only sign the Steelers are bracing for help. This week they brought in two tackles for tryouts, Charlie Heck and Austin Deculus. Neither has signed yet, but the message is obvious: the team is looking for bodies at the position.
That makes the Broderick Jones conversation harder to avoid, even if the answer doesn’t change much. With the Steelers staring at possible tackle trouble, it’s fair to ask whether moving him was the right call.
But the pass protection he was giving was poor at best, and the Steelers were able to get two draft picks back in the deal. That’s why it doesn’t look like they’re sitting around regretting the move now.
There was at least one small wrinkle on the injury front that stood out. Joey Porter, Jr. was listed as limited because of conditioning, not because of his back issue, which is an odd note given the situation. And if any team is truly thinking about trading for him, it would also need to have enough room to make it work, since most rosters are already pretty close to set except for a few million needed for depth.
On the defensive line, Derrick Harmon’s stat line didn’t tell the full story. Some reaction online painted him as a poor pass rusher, but that misses what was actually happening on the field.
Harmon was getting double-teamed more often than not. He still has to get better at handling those looks, but it wasn’t a clean one-on-one showcase all game.
There was also some outside noise around Aaron Rodgers and D.K. Metcalf, but Rodgers said he isn’t worried about Metcalf’s drops from last week. That may be his stance, but it’s not shared everywhere.
One thing that could help the Steelers if it sticks is the outside linebacker rotation they used last week. If they can keep that going, it should pay off over the course of the season.
Elsewhere, there was the usual mix of eyebrow-raising football chatter: the NCAA was thanked for confirming what many already thought about Western Michigan being robbed of its win at Michigan, LSU was said to have listed star QB Sam Leavitt as doubtful for the matchup at Ole Miss, and that was met with skepticism as a Lane Kiffin move. And if Michael Pittman, Jr. can’t go Sunday, Roman Wilson will have to step up in a big way.
In Other News...
Joey Porter Jr. Just Gave Steelers Fans A Reason To Hope
Joey Porter Jr. is giving the Steelers something to watch heading into Week 2, with the young cornerback increasing his practice participation after being limited earlier in the week. Head coach Mike McCarthy said Porter is expected to do more, which at least points to progress for a player who matters a great deal to Pittsburghs secondary.
The catch is that a fuller practice workload does not automatically mean he is ready to suit up, and the larger backdrop still hangs over the situation. Porter is in the final year of his rookie contract, and while the Steelers have control beyond this season through their roster mechanisms, the current impasse remains unresolved as the team waits to see how much of a step forward this latest practice bump really represents. [Read more 🡒]
Steelers Fans Know How Rare This Patriots Memory Really Feels
The Steelers-Patriots rivalry has long carried a strange mix of familiarity and frustration for Pittsburgh fans, but the roots of it go back to a time when the balance felt very different. In 1997, the Steelers beat New England in overtime during the regular season, a game that stood out for the kind of hard-nosed, late-game swing that used to define this matchup before the Patriots took control in the Tom Brady era. Pittsburgh not only won that game but went on to capture the division and later saw New England again in the playoffs, giving that season an extra layer of significance.
For Steelers fans, that memory matters because it captures how rare those old advantages have become. What once felt like a competitive heavyweight series gradually shifted into something else entirely, and the 1997 win now reads like a snapshot from a different football age. It is the kind of reminder that makes longtime followers appreciate just how much the rivalry has changed, and why the moments when Pittsburgh had the upper hand still resonate so strongly. [Read more 🡒]
Steelers Mourn The Loss Of An Early 1960s Standout
The Steelers are remembering one of their early defensive standouts after news broke that Jim Bradshaw died at 87, according to a social media post from his family. Bradshaw was part of Pittsburghs roster through the middle of the 1960s, appearing in 62 NFL games from 1963 to 1967 and making his mark as a safety after initially being converted from quarterback.
Bradshaws Steelers tenure ended after the 1967 season when he was traded to the Browns, though he never got the chance to suit up for Cleveland before being released. For a franchise that has long prized its defensive identity, his career serves as another reminder of the players who helped shape it during an earlier era. [Read more 🡒]