Max Iheanachor Sebastian Joseph-Day steelers injury report
Max Iheanachor Sebastian Joseph-Day steelers injury report
The Pittsburgh Steelers have invested more than anybody in their offensive line with high hopes of the unit finally turning the corner to become a dominant force. Through two preseason games, the offensive line has largely underwhelmed relative to expectations. According to one former Steeler, we may have a different opinion once first-round rookie OT Max Iheanachor gets on the field.
“We haven’t seen our first-rounder, and I’m just gonna say this, when I was in camp, he was the best player in camp. He was absolutely dominant,” Merril Hoge said via 102.5 WDVE’s Morning Show. “I don’t use this term very [often], I don’t think I’ve ever used it in any offensive linemen with the Steelers, but he could be an eraser. That means whoever lines up against him is done. They are not part of the play because he’s gonna take care of them and he’ll eliminate them from the play. I mean, we got some pretty good pass rushers [and] nobody beat him. He’s actually as fundamentally sound a player I think I’ve ever…he makes a big difference.”
Iheanachor only had a couple padded practices before a shoulder/neck injury sidelined him for over two weeks, including both preseason games so far, but he made a very strong first impression. The Arizona State product was the talk of training camp for a few days, and by all accounts he’s picked up where he left off with his return to practice this week.
“Just being out as long as he was, he had some very impressive snaps,” Mike McCarthy said after watching him in a limited return on Monday.
He must have continued that strong showing Tuesday because fellow OT Troy Fautanu offered high praise for Iheanachor after practice.
“Him being back out here is good for him, and good for us because it obviously elevates the room,” Fautanu said via the team’s YouTube channel. “He’s a baller. He sets the tone.”
Fautanu alluded to a particular moment during Tuesday’s practice to elaborate on those comments. You can only infer he did something impressive against one of the big dogs on defense — something he did regularly at the start of training camp before his injury.
Because of his unique background starting football just five years ago, many thought Iheanachor was raw and needed time to develop his game before cracking the Steelers’ starting lineup. Even with missing most of camp, Iheanachor may be making up enough lost ground to position himself for the Week 1 starting job.
Dylan Cook’s preseason play hasn’t been convincing enough despite an opportunity to seize the starting job. With Iheanachor already getting starting reps at practice and one more preseason game left to play, he may have the inside track to winning the competition after all.