It was hard enough for Pittsburgh Steelers fans to feel encouraged coming off an embarrassing loss to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday Night Football. The ugly 35-25 defeat was even harder to swallow when it came with multiple concerning injuries attached.
During the game, DeShon Elliott had his right leg rolled up on, Daniel Ekuale left the game with a knee injury, and Isaac Seumalo was ruled out with a pectoral injury. In his post-game press conference, head coach Mike Tomlin noted that the injuries to Ekuale and Elliott were significant.
Unfortunately, Ekuale was later ruled out for the remainder of the 2025 season with an ACL tear. Thankfully, Elliott didn't get the same diagnosis.
We learned on Monday that Elliott's ACL was intact. On Tuesday, Tomlin spoke to the media for his Week 9 press conference, where he listed Elliott as 'week-to-week' with a hyper-extended knee. The Steelers head coach also gave an encouraging update on Seumalo—stating that it's a pec strain for the veteran guard, but he'll have a chance to play against the Indianapolis Colts this week.
The Pittsburgh Steelers get an encouraging injury update with DeShon Elliott and Isaac Seumalo
While we'd love to have Elliott and Seumalo at full strength, the injury update we received on Tuesday feels like the best-case scenario, considering the feel after the game. After getting his leg trapped against the Packers, Elliott writhed on the ground in pain. The initial fear is that there was a torn ligament involved.
A 'week-to-week' injury designation is a broad label, and it could mean we go another month or so without seeing Elliott take the field. However, because there is no structural damage to his right knee, Elliott will have a shot to return to the field at some point in the second half of the season. Elliott already dealt with an MCL sprain to his left knee early in the season.
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Steelers fans can be equally thankful that Seumalo's pectoral injury isn't deemed serious. Seumalo is the veteran-most leader of the offensive line. Had he been out for an extended period, the Steelers would have been forced to turn to Spencer Anderson. This would have hampered Pittsburgh's ability to run their 'jumbo' personnel, as Anderson has been excellent in his role as a tight end-eligible offensive lineman.
Depending on the severity, pec injuries can be serious—even season-ending. In 2022, T.J. Watt missed a stretch of games from an injury suffered in Week 1 until his return in Week 10 with a pec tear. Back in 2016, Cam Heyward tore his pectoral muscle and missed the final nine games of the season.
Though Daniel Ekuale was lost for the year with an injury suffered on Sunday Night Football, Pittsburgh Steelers fans can be thankful that a pair of starters—DeShon Elliott and Isaac Seumalo—avoided disaster in Week 9. That's as good news as we could have asked for.