It was assumed that a multi-week knee injury dashed Pittsburgh Steelers first-round pick Troy Fautanu's starting hopes, but it appears that is not the case after all.
According to Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Steelers planned on starting the rookie at right tackle in Week 1 before his injury, and that injury won't change things, assuming he is healthy enough to play by the regular-season opener.
Fautanu is expected to miss two weeks with what was diagnosed as a minor MCL sprain. The injury timeline means Fautanu won't get another preseason rep, but Dulac says the Steelers expect him to be ready to go by Sept. 8.
"The Steelers don’t want to wait any longer with rookie Troy Fautanu, even though they have no other choice right now," Dulac wrote. "After three weeks of training camp and just one preseason game, they are ready to hand the starting right tackle job over to their No. 1 draft choice. They planned to start him in Saturday night’s preseason game against the Buffalo Bills and leave him there for the start of the regular season until he injured his knee Friday night against the Houston Texans."
Another interesting nugget in Dulac's report is the Steelers believing Fautanu is "already their second-best offensive lineman."
As far as the left tackle spot is concerned, Dulac says that last year's first-round pick, Broderick Jones, will battle it out with veteran Dan Moore. Jones will remain at right tackle until Fautanu is healthy, though.
"That will leave Broderick Jones, last year’s No. 1 pick, to battle incumbent Dan Moore Jr. for the starting left tackle position," Dulac added. " For now, though, Jones will remain at right tackle until Fautanu returns. Fautanu will miss the final two preseason games, but with two weeks in between until the start of the regular season, he is expected to be ready for Sept. 8 in Atlanta."
Ideally, Jones wins that battle considering how bad Moore has been in recent years. Jones has been getting reps at left tackle in training camp and took some snaps there in the preseason opener.
Fautanu made his NFL debut in preseason Week 1, working at right tackle. It was a less-than ideal showing for the rookie, as he gave up two sacks before settling in.
Not being able to get Fautanu more game reps is a concern, but clearly the Steelers aren't worried about it. If he can get healthy around the end of the preseason, Fautanu will have two weeks to get back in the groove ahead of Week 1.