Pittsburgh Steelers place key contributor on injured reserve

The Pittsburgh Steelers offense suffered a significant blow on Saturday, as tight end Eric Ebron was placed on the injured reserve.

Ebron suffered a knee injury in last week’s 41-37 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. He finished with three receptions on three targets, good for 24 receiving yards and a touchdown. Ebron suffered an apparent knee injury, but the severity of the injury was unclear, at first. When the Steelers released their injury report heading into Sunday’s matchup with the Cincinnati Bengals, Ebron joined cornerback Joe Haden (foot) and J.C. Hassenauer (pectoral) on the injury report, as all three had already been declared out.

But his status went from bad to worse after being placed on the injured reserve. With Ebron sidelined for an extended period of time, he’ll be replaced by rookie Pat Freirmuth. Ebron has amassed 84 receiving yards on 12 receptions this season, while Freirmuth has 47 receptions for 287 receiving yards and five touchdowns.

Ebron, 28, is in his eighth NFL season, and his second with the Steelers. He was drafted out of North Carolina in the first round, with the 10th-overall pick by the Detroit Lions, where he would go on to play four successful seasons. While in Detroit, Ebron amassed 2,070 yards and 11 touchdowns as the go-to tight end for then-quarterback Matt Stafford.

After his four seasons with the Lions, Ebron moved to the Indianapolis Colts for two years, then in March of 2020 signed a two-year, $12 million contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers. A 2019 Pro Bowl selection, Ebron has 340 career receptions for over 3,700 yards and 32 touchdowns.

A three-star recruit by most outlets out of high school, Ebron was rated among the top-25 tight ends for the Class of 2011. He committed to North Carolina, where he played three years, including two as the starting tight end. Over the course of his 112-reception, 1,805-yard, eight-touchdown career with the Tar Heels, Ebron was named a second-team All-ACC tight end in 2012, his sophomore season, and in 2013 he was a first-team All-ACC nod, along with a second-team AP All-American.

Ebron was joined on the Steelers injury report by four others, only two of which were dealing with significant ailments: linebacker Robert Spillane was held out with a shin injury, defensive tackle Carlos Davis was held out with a knee injury, and both quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster did not play due to coaches’ decision.