The Pittsburgh Steelers couldn't afford any more injuries to their offensive line heading into Week 4. First-round rookie offensive tackle Troy Fautanu suffered a serious knee injury and will miss the rest of the regular season. Meanwhile, Isaac Seumalo has yet to take a snap and Nate Herbig was out for the year before the season even started.
Now things went from bad to worse.
In the first half of Pittsburgh's Week 4 loss to the Colts, right guard James Daniels went down with a lower leg injury. The initial speculation was an ankle injury for Daniels. Unfortunately, we received confirmation from Jeremy Fowler of ESPN that Daniels had suffered a ruptured Achilles. This will end his 2024 season.
#Steelers starting guard James Daniels suffered an Achilles tear Sunday against Indy, per source. He will be out for the season. Tough blow for a steady starter up front.
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) September 30, 2024
Daniels was having a career season with the Steelers and was the highest-graded guard in the NFL through the first three games, according to Pro Football Focus.
The highest-graded offensive linemen in Week 3 pic.twitter.com/NMLO7rQM2e
— PFF (@PFF) September 24, 2024
The impressive offensive lineman was in a contract year and seeking a big payday during the 2025 offseason. Now he begins the road to recovery with a serious injury, and it could be a year until he's back at full strength.
Steelers are decimated on the offensive line
James Daniels is hardly the first noteworthy offensive lineman the Pittsburgh Steelers have been without. After Week 1, first-round rookie offensive tackle Troy Fautanu injured his knee at during practice and will be out for at least the remainder of the regular season.
Meanwhile, left guard Isaac Seumalo has yet to suit up for a game this year while the team had already been without center/guard Nate Herbig since the end of the preseason. He is out for the year with a shoulder injury.
#Steelers offensive line injuries in 2024 have been killer:
— Tommy Jaggi (@TommyJaggi) September 30, 2024
RT Troy Fautanu (knee) - out for regular season
LG Isaac Seumalo (pec) - hasn't played a snap yet
C/G Nate Herbig (shoulder) - out for season
RG James Daniels (Achilles) - out for season
The Steelers' once-deep offensive line can't afford to suffer any more injuries. Fourth-round rookie Mason McCormick made his first start at left guard in Week 4 against the Colts while Spencer Anderson was forced to jump in at right guard when Daniels went down with an Achilles injury.
From left to right, Pittsburgh's offensive line in the second half against the Colts was Dan Moore Jr., Mason McCormick, Zach Frazier, Spencer Anderson, and Broderick Jones. Nobody could have guessed that we would have seen this group of five playing alongside each other when the season started.
Getting Seumalo back soon will help, but this team has no more depth to exhaust. The Pittsburgh Steelers need to find a way to make this patchwork OL work and keep Justin Fields upright while going the rest of the year without any injuries. Losing Daniels is a huge blow.