Latest Steelers injuries are starting to make us feel uneasy

The Pittsburgh Steelers suffered a few more injuries at training camp on Monday. At what point should we start feeling nervous? 

One of the biggest worries football fans have in August is hoping their team can make it through training camp without any injuries heading into the regular season. The last thing you want to see is a star player blow their knee out before we even get to meaningful football in September.

So far, players have been fortunate to avoid any major injuries at Steelers training camp this year. But all of the sudden, the minor injuries are starting to pile up.

Recently, Nick Farabaugh of Pittsburgh Sports Now reported that three players were added to the injury list following Monday’s training camp practice: Diontae Johnson (hip), Kevin Dotson (ankle), and Alex Highsmith (ribs).

These aren’t exactly three scrubs either. Shortly after his return to the field from his contract hold-in, Johnson will now be dealing with a hip flexor that could keep him out of action for a bit. This isn’t what you want to see with your top quarterback who has yet to develop any chemistry with Mitch Trubisky or Kenny Pickett.

Last year, Kevin Dotson missed nearly the entire second half of the season with a high ankle sprain, so we hope that his injury isn’t one that keeps him out of commission for long. Dotson and Kendrick Green are battling for the starting left guard role this year, but most feel that Dotson has been the better player and think that it’s only a matter of time before he’s listed as the starter.

Alex Highsmith’s rib injury also has me a little concerned. The depth at the edge defender position is razor-thin. While he’s not considered a focal point of the defense, Pittsburgh needs to make sure that he is healthy to begin the season.

Steelers injuries are minor, but have been mounting up

The good news is that none of the injuries Steelers players have suffered thus far in training camp are believed to be serious (with the exception of Jeremy McNichols who landed on IR). The bad news is the number of injuries we are seeing to staters and quality players.

Tyson Alualu and Larry Ogunjobi have just recently been cleared for action after missing nearly the first half of Steelers training camp. Meanwhile, Chase Claypool and Najee Harris have now been sidelined for over a week as Claypool deals with a shoulder injury and Harris is making sure his injured foot is ready to go.

The Steelers don’t kick off the 2022 season for another month, so it’s possible that all of the names I’ve mentioned could be good to go for Week 1 against the Cincinnati Bengals on the road. However, I hate that so many starters are missing this much practice time.

This is nothing new. Injuries have been a part of the game since football first started, and there are other teams that have it worse.

We can breathe a sigh of relief knowing that (at least for now) the Pittsburgh Steelers have avoided any major injuries. At the same time, I’m starting to feel uneasy with how much practice time players have missed and will be missing in the near future as a result. This is a team with a lot of roster turnover that needs to be sharp entering the season.