Steelers Now
The Pittsburgh Steelers’ defensive line has taken yet another hit following the latest injury to the group.
The Pittsburgh Steelers defensive line, which has already suffered several injuries, will be heading into their Week 3 matchup against the New England Patriots even thinner.
According to Nick Farabaugh of PennLive, Steelers defensive lineman Isaiahh Loudermilk is expected to miss multiple games with a high ankle sprain.
Loudermilk suffered a right ankle injury on the opening drive of Sunday’s 31-17 loss against the Seattle Seahawks and he was shortly after ruled out for the rest of the game. He was then seen on crutches and in a boot following the game and is now expected to be sidelined through at least the team’s Week 5 bye.
It’s just the latest blow to Pittsburgh’s defense. The unit already entered last week’s game without rookie defensive tackle Derrick Harmon, cornerback Joey Porter Jr. and strong safety DeShon Elliott and then also lost outside linebacker Alex Highsmith to an in-game injury. Linebackers Patrick Queen and Payton Wilson played through ailments at obviously less than 100%, too.
However, Loudermilk’s injury likely means that the team will have to rely even more heavily on defensive lineman Yahya Black, Logan Lee and Daniel Ekuale. The Steelers are also hoping Harmon will be back sooner rather than later as he continues to heal from an MCL sprain.
Either way, Pittsburgh needs to get healthy and in a hurry. Its defense is off to an historically bad pace, allowing 100-yard rushers in each of its first two games for the first time in head coach Mike Tomlin’s 19-year tenure.
Sunday’s loss also marked the first time under Tomlin that the team allowed at least 31 points in the opening two games of the season. The last time was in 1989 when the Steelers opened the season with back-to-back losses of 51-0 and 41-10.
Loudermilk isn’t the answer to those problems, but he could surely help. A fifth-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, Loudermilk has recorded 63 tackles, one sack and six passes defensed in his NFL career.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Steelers Lose Another Starting Defensive Lineman For Multiple Games
