Stephon Tuitt seems unlikely to return to Steelers anytime soon

The Pittsburgh Steelers are desperately missing one of their best players, but here’s why Stephon Tuitt may not return to the team anytime soon. 

Since entering the NFL as a second-round pick back in 2014, I thought Stephon Tuitt had the makings to be a special player in this league. Prior to joining the Pittsburgh Steelers, Tuitt was a versatile defensive lineman for Notre Dame who had an impressive combination of quickness,  power, and length.

If not for a foot injury prior to declaring for the 2014 NFL Draft, Tuitt would have likely been a first-round pick. Sadly, his injury history didn’t end there. In his first 7 seasons, Tuitt has failed to play in all 16 games even once and has missed a grand total of 21 games so far ion his career.

Tuitt had his best season in 2020 in which he recorded 11.0 sacks, 10 tackles for a loss, and 25 quarterback hits in 15 games, according to Pro Football Reference. Unsurprisingly, it was the healthiest season of his career. Tragically, Tuitt has been dealing with the death of his brother from a hit-and-run incident that happened this past offseason.

After being placed on injured reserve to start the season, Tuitt was eligible to start practicing with the team and return to the field as soon as this coming week. However, by the sound of things, Tuitt isn’t very close to making his return. In fact, we aren’t certain if he’s going to be rejoining the Steelers at all this year. Here’s what defensive coordinator Keith Butler had to say, via ESPN’s Brooke Pryor:

In addition to mourning the loss of his younger brother, Tuitt has also been hampered with an undisclosed knee injury. Regardless of what he’s dealing with, we wish nothing but the best for him as he takes all the time he needs.

Steelers hurting without Stephon Tuitt

The Steelers certainly miss Tuitt’s presence on the football field. I thought that the big defensive lineman was one of the top four players on the entire team last season, and Pittsburgh’s defense has struggled early on without some of its best players on the field.

Obviously, they should still be able to turn things around once T.J. Watt is healthy, and Minkah Fitzpatrick has really yet to find his groove this year. However, the loss of both Tuitt and Tyson Alualu makes things challenging for Pittsburgh along the defensive line.

Despite quality depth at the position, players like Isaiah Buggs and rookie Isaiahh Loudermilk are no substitute for a very good nose tackle in Alualu and one of the best interior defenders in the league in Tuitt. In addition to these losses, second-year defensive tackle Carlos Davis has also been out with a knee injury.

We hope that it won’t take Stephon Tuitt long to return to form if he is ready to return at any point this season. In the meantime, our thoughts and prayers go out to him and we hope that he’s doing well. The team will welcome him back with open arms as soon as he’s ready.