Steelers place rookie tackle Troy Fautanu on injured reserve with a knee injury

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh Steelers placed rookie right tackle Troy Fautanu on injured reserve Saturday with a knee injury.

The 20th overall pick in the draft practiced most of the week before injuring the knee on Friday, less than 48 hours before the Steelers face the Los Angeles Chargers in a meeting of 2-0 teams. He was initially listed as questionable on the injury report before being downgraded to out Saturday morning. The team placed him on injured reserve later in the day.

Fautanu had been scheduled to make his second career start. The 23-year-old Washington product was slowed by a knee injury during training camp but impressed coach Mike Tomlin when he was cleared to return earlier this month.

The move to IR means Fautanu will miss at least four games, vaulting Broderick Jones back into a starting role. Jones, a first-round pick in 2023, was benched in favor of Fautanu last week against Denver. Jones struggled while getting a series of work early in the second quarter, being flagged for three penalties in just a handful of plays. He spent the rest of the game on the bench.

Earlier in the week, Tomlin said he had no plans to fully move on from Jones.

“I am sure (Jones) suffered some disappointment in terms of Troy starting,” Tomlin said. “It’s a natural thing. But he has to move past it and I have to give him an opportunity to move past it as a leader.”

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