This is the last thing you want to see. After cutting their roster down to 53 players, the Pittsburgh Steelers suffered a massive blow to their team with an injury that occurred during practice.
ESPN's Adam Schefter reports that Pittsburgh's starting left guard, Isaac Seumalo, sustained a pectoral injury and will undergo tests to determine the extent of the injury.
In a later post on 'X', Schefter brought some light to the situation. He reported that Seumalo's injury was not season-ending, but the team is still weighing how much time he could miss.
We've seen pectoral injuries devastate the Steelers in the past. Cameron Heyward lost a season to a pec tear back in 2016, while T.J. Watt missed seven games with a torn pectoral in 2022.
The good news is that it appears Seumalo will be able to return to the team at some point this season. However, we don't know how long that could be. Even mild pec injuries can keep a player out of action for four to six weeks. That might be the best-case scenario at this point.
This means that the veteran guard -- and arguably the most consistent offensive lineman on the team -- could be out for the month of September. The Steelers need to find a way to replace him without the offensive line falling apart.
This is hardly the first injury Pittsburgh sustained on the offensive line this summer. Center Nate Herbig was lost for the season with a shoulder injury, while backup offensive tackle Dylan Cook was forced to land on IR (with a designation to return) with a foot injury. Meanwhile, first-round tackle Troy Fautanu missed several weeks with a knee injury and is still on the mend.
Seumalo's pectoral injury will have the biggest impact on the team, as he was a bonafide starter and potentially the best player on the O-line. In his stead, the Steelers have a few in-house options they can turn to.
The first choice could be Spencer Anderson. The 2023 seventh-round pick, has enough athleticism and versatility to line up anywhere across the offensive line, but nothing he has done in his first season has been convincing.
The other option would be to roll with rookie Mason McCormick. The 2024 fourth-round pick and South Dakota State product made the big jump from a non-Power Five school to the NFL, and being inserted as a starter wouldn't be easy.
While there are benefits and disadvantages to plugging either player in for the injured Seumalo, starting McCormick is the right choice. The rookie has been thoroughly impressive during his first preseason and training camp -- even being battle-tested against Cam Heyward in OL vs. DL drills. McCormick has the size, strength, and upside at the position to develop into a full-time starter; whereas Anderson would be nothing more than a stop-gap player.
If the Steelers really wanted to make Broderick Jones' head spin, they could plug their 2024 14th overall pick at left guard and see how he fares at that position. Jones struggled in the preseason and is expected to begin his second season on the bench if Troy Fautanu is good to go for Week 1.
That's too much to put on Jones' plate, and McCormick showed he's up for the task. None of these options are going to replace what the Steelers lost in Isaac Seumalo, but let's hope one of them can be a quality option until their veteran left guard returns from a pectoral injury.
This once deep line has already exhausted it's depth, and they can't afford any more injuries.
