The Pittsburgh Steelers had some good and bad news following Wednesday’s practice. The bad news was that starting guard Isaac Seumalo sustained a pectoral injury during practice. The good news was that Seumalo avoided a season-ending injury and is expected to miss a month, according to the Post-Gazette.
Seumalo underwent tests to determine the severity of the injury after leaving practice early and a source told ESPN that, “We dodged a bullet.”
Injuries have plagued Pittsburgh’s offensive line this summer. Nate Herbig, who was competing with rookie Zach Frazier to be the Steelers’ starting center, suffered a season-ending shoulder injury during Pittsburgh’s final training camp practice. Starting tackle Broderick Jones has been playing through an elbow injury that surely contributed to his struggles during the exhibition season. Rookie first-round pick Troy Fautanu missed Pittsburgh’s last two preseason games with a knee injury.
Rookie Mason McCormick and 2023 seventh-round pick Spencer Anderson are in line to replace Seumalo in the starting lineup. Anderson appeared in eight games as a rookie. McCormick, a fourth-round pick who played college football at FCS South Dakota State, had a training camp/preseason that could be described as a success. He recently said that he would be ready if the Steelers asked him to move over to center in light of Herbig’s injury.
Pittsburgh is obviously hoping that Seumalo’s injury will not keep him sidelined for longer than a month. A nine-year veteran, the 30-year-old started in each of Pittsburgh’s 17 games last season, his first for the Steelers after spending the first eight years of his career in Philadelphia. He was a key reserve when the Eagles won the Super Bowl in 2017 and was a starter on Philadelphia’s 2022 NFC championship squad.
