Like many NFL teams, the Pittsburgh Steelers head into their Week 3 matchup with the Los Angeles Chargers banged up. The latest bad news for Justin Fields' offense is that rookie right tackle Troy Fautanu, the No. 20 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, is out “indefinitely” with a knee injury. He's now been placed in the IR, per Adam Schefter.

“Steelers now have placed OL Troy Fautanu on injured reserve.”

Since the Steelers installed the former Washington Huskies right tackle as the starter, the young blocker has performed well. He is currently ranked 34th out of 69 offensive tackles in terms of PFF grades with a 69.3 pass block mark, 59.3 for run blocking, and a 64.4 overall grade.

Broderick Jones, the Steelers' No. 14 overall selection in the 2023 NFL Draft will start in place of Troy Fautanu. Despite the extra year of experience and the higher draft slot, Jones has struggled this season and last. In 2024, he is the 64th-ranked of 68 OTs with grades of 62.4 pass blocking, 51.8 run blocking, and 43.6 overall.

While the Steelers are a somewhat surprising 2-0 on the year, the injuries are starting to mount and questions will arise from that.

Steelers injuries mount heading into Week 3 vs. Chargers

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The biggest injury question heading into the Steelers' Week 3 tilt with the Chargers is the health of quarterback Justin Fields. The currently undefeated QB is dealing with a knee injury and clearly wasn't at 100 percent in the team's Week 2 13-6 win over the Denver Broncos.

This is a problem as Fields has played well this season and his backup/presumed 2024 starter, Russell Wilson, is still listed as questionable with a calf injury that has kept him out of the first two games this season.

Additionally, the Troy Fautanu injury further weakens the Steelers offensive line which is already dealing with the absence of major offseason free agent acquisition, guard Isaac Seumalo. The former Eagles offensive lineman injured his pectoral muscle in a late August practice and has not played yet in the 2024 campaign.