Steelers rookie Troy Fautanu expected to be out two weeks with knee injury

Pittsburgh Steelers rookie offensive lineman Troy Fautanu is expected to miss some action after suffering a knee injury during the team’s preseason opener on Friday. According to Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, the former Washington Huskies star will miss two weeks due to the injury. Dulac added that Fautanu is “ok,” which likely means he will be ready to go when the regular season begins in September.

However, the injury will slow Fautanu’s development. Likely, he won’t start in the season opener since Dan Moore and Broderick Jones started at left and right tackle, respectively, on Friday. The Steelers selected Fautanu No. 20 overall in this year’s draft, and Steelers coach Mike Tomlin loves what he brings to the table.

“Really excited about Troy,” Tomlin said, per the Steelers’ official website. “The tape was just really, really impressive, not only in terms of his talents, but really I think his talents were really highlighted by the way that Washington utilized his talents schematically. You saw everything that you wanted to see. You saw him out in space in the perimeter game, be it crack toss or wide receiver screens. He was great in the run game. He was great as a drop-back pass protector.

“We had great visits through the process. Went to Tuscaloosa, obviously to handle some Alabama business, but we had an opportunity to really talk to some people in Tuscaloosa that had some firsthand knowledge of his capabilities, the coaching staff, and he just checked every box. We’re really excited to have him.”

Steelers have big expectations for Troy Fautanu

Fautanu joined the Steelers after making a big impact at Washington. In 2023, the 23-year-old was named to the All-Pac-12 First Team and helped the Huskies reach the College Football Playoff National Championship game.

“Excited to have him as a member of this organization,” general manager Omar Khan said about Fautanu. “We spent a great deal of time with him. We met with Troy at the Combine. We had him in here as a 30 visit. We are excited to have him here.

“I would say that he was a player that we had rated really high up on the board. He was one of the guys that we were hoping would be there and that we were targeting. When he was, we were on the clock – when they, when we were at 19 and waiting to see what the Rams picked, and it was just – we just felt really good about it. He’s the player we wanted.”