Steelers timeline for Troy Fautanu injury is as good as they could’ve hoped for

The first official preseason game is in the books for the Pittsburgh Steelers. They saw some promising signs from some of their younger players including a couple of crisp throws from quarterback Justin Fields.

Fields also took a few sacks and fumbled a few snaps. Besides Fields, the low point of the game emerged after the last snap of the contest when reports began emerging that Steelers first-round pick was seen in a hefty knee brace after suffering a knee injury in the game.

Speculation grew on what could have happened to Troy Fautanu. Pittsburgh eventually cleared the air by releasing that the injury was just a minor MCL sprain. These injuries typically carry a one to three week recovery timetable, but with Fautanu being a highly coveted offensive lineman, the recovery could have ranged closer to four or five weeks if Pittsburgh wanted to play it super safe.

It appears as though the Steelers fans can finally let out another sigh of relief after receiving some more best-case-scenario news on their top pick.

Steelers first round pick Troy Fautanu set to miss two weeks with knee injury

Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette reports that Fautanu is expected to be out two weeks as a result of the injury.

This is as good of news as could've been hope for when it comes to Steelers fans as they were staring down the barrel of the idea of losing Fautanu for the season. Knee injuries and ligament injuries specifically are absolutely nothing to play around with. A two-week absence is a huge win for Fautanu and the Steelers.

This will likely kill the idea of the Steelers first-round pick beating out Dan Moore Jr. for the starting tackle spot for Pittsburgh to begin the year. Broderick Jones is locked in as one of the two starting tackles for the Steelers. Fautanu was selected to replace the struggling presence of Moore.

With the injury sidelining the top pick for most of, if not all, of the rest of the preseason, Moore should comfortably rise into the regular season at a starting tackle spot.

This isn't to say that Moore will hold this spot for long though. Steeler fans and the media know all too well that Moore is routinely beaten by average edge rushers. It's almost common knowledge that Moore isn't a long-term answer on the starting offensive line.

Hopefully Fautanu can recover from his knee injury seamlessly over the next two weeks. The entire Steelers organization is eager to see him back on the field.