Pittsburgh Steelers place offensive lineman on injured reserve
The Pittsburgh Steelers have placed yet another player on injured reserve. After he suffered a pectoral injury in last Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Chargers, the Steelers have placed offensive guard JC Hassenauer on injured reserve. He will now miss, at a minimum, the next three games, according to Pro Football Talk’s Josh Alper.
Along with Hassenauer, tight end Eric Ebron was placed on injured reserve by the Steelers with a shoulder injury. Hassenauer started last week at left guard due to an injur to Kevin Dotson. He was replaced by Joe Haeg after leaving with the pectoral injury.
In addition to placing Ebron and Hassenauer on injured reserve, the Steelers also signed guard John Leglue to the active roster.
Hassenauer was undrafted out of Alabama and initially signed with the Atlanta Falcons as an undrafted free agent.
Sunday’s game is pivotal for the Steelers
The 5-4-1 Steelers enter Sunday’s divisional matchup against the 6-4 Cincinnati Bengals in serious need of a victory. Both teams trail the 7-3 Baltimore Ravens for first place in the AFC North. The Steelers will have to overcome multiple injuries to come away with the win on Sunday.
Hassenauer, Ebron, and cornerback Joe Haden will all miss Sunday’s game. Luckily for the Steelers, offensive lineman Trai Turner, defensive tackle Cam heyward, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, linebacker TJ Watt, defensive end Isaiahh Loudermilk and cornerback Arthur Maulet were all full practice participants on Friday.
The Steelers also activated safety Minkah Fitzpatrick from the Reserve/COVID-19 list on Thursday after he missed multiple games. With multiple players already on injured reserve, the Steelers have had to overcome a lot this year.
After last week’s lost, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin refused to blame injuries for losing. Instead, he wants the Steelers to do the best with what they have.
“We’ve got to get back to the drawing board and do a better job of putting them in position to be successful with the people that we have at our disposal,” Tomlin said after the Chargers game. “And that was challenging tonight, but we make no excuses. It needs to be better. That’s how we win the circumstances and get out of these circumstances. Just really appreciate of the efforts of all the people involved.”