It was thought that Pittsburgh Steelers left guard Isaac Seumalo would have a pectoral injury that would terminate the season, but sources told PennLive that Seumalo only had a strained pectoral.

Due to the injury, Seumalo had to leave Wednesday’s practice. He will be out for around four weeks. Accordingly, he might be able to make it to the team’s home opener against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 3. After more testing, the Steelers will be able to make a more accurate estimate about when he will be ready to return, but it appears that the injury has prevented the worst-case situation for the organization.

Seumalo’s injury is not as serious as T.J. Watt’s injury from two years ago, when he lost more than half the season, and he won’t require surgery. Mason McCormick or Spencer Anderson will start in his place; however, Anderson is more likely to start given that he was a member of the first team during Seumalo’s veteran days off throughout training camp.

With Seumalo sidelined for the first part of the season, Pittsburgh, which already boasts a youthful offensive line, will have to rely on the young talent to perform well.

Seumalo’s injury is concerning because the offense has added so much new players already, but the Steelers should take comfort in the fact that his absence will only be temporary. In alleviation of Seumalo, they will discover a great deal about Anderson or McCormick immediately.

WR signing with the Steelers selected Pittsburgh over his previous team: Report.

The 53-man roster cutdown announced by the NFL on August 27 was followed by the Pittsburgh Steelers choosing not to claim anyone off waivers. Nevertheless, NFL Network source Tom Pelissero claims that on August 28, they did steal a wide receiver prospect from the Denver Broncos.

Pelissero reported, “In other Steelers news, they are signing WR Brandon Johnson to their practice squad, per source.”

Further following up on this deal on X was Broncos beat reporter Mike Klis (9 News), who stated that “[the] Broncos tried to bring WR Brandon Johnson back to their practice squad but he had two strong connections with [the] Steelers – former Broncos WR coach Zach Azzanni and QB Russell Wilson.”

Johnson was implying that he would rather go back to Pittsburgh than Denver.

The third-year NFL player, who was previously undrafted, attended UCF and the University of Tennessee for his undergraduate career. He has spent his entire professional career with the Broncos, making 20 appearances (3 starts) and tallying 25 receptions for 326 yards and 5 touchdowns.

Johnson played well in his preseason games this August. scoring a touchdown and 105 yards (26.25 YPC) on 4 receptions. If he can get some of his practice chemistry back with Wilson, he might push for action with the Steelers in the form of a promotion or gameday elevation.

Steelers Reduce Wide Receiver Room to Five Players

After a dismal preseason in Pittsburgh, it wasn’t shocking at all when the Steelers released Quez Watkins on August 27. Nevertheless, the Watkins cut suggested that camp breakout player Dez Fitzpatrick might make the squad.

Fitzpatrick, however, was unable to meet the deadline once more.

When the Steelers released their original 53-man roster, they disclosed that they had reduced their wide receiver corps to five pass catchers. Barring injury or trade, the first four players—George Pickens, Roman Wilson, Van Jefferson, and Calvin Austin III—were surefire picks to make the squad, while most people anticipated that veteran Scotty Miller would make it.

Johnson and upcoming practice squad additions will both slightly bolster the depth.

Steelers’ First Attempt at Two WR Reunions Misses

The Steelers wasted their opportunity to reunite with veteran wide receiver Miles Boykin, a highly regarded special teams gunner, or former star NFL wide receiver Allen Robinson on the practice squad.

Robinson has signed a practice squad contract with the NFC North Super Bowl contender, according to the Detroit Lions social media crew. After Robinson had a successful summer and preseason, the New York Giants dismissed him.

Though it’s clear that the three-time 1,000-yard wide receiver is not the same player he once was, there’s a case to be made for his still being as good as or better than the Steelers’ current depth chart. In 2023, Robinson caught 34 catches for 280 yards while playing for Pittsburgh.

Regarding Boykin, there were others who believed that if he was cut, the Steelers would pick him up. However, Boykin remained unsigned when the Giants made him available on August 27, much like they did with Robinson.

The announcement that Boykin would rejoin the NYG practice squad was made on August 28.

Remember that the Steelers didn’t necessarily lose out on any of these reunions because they could always add a player from another team’s practice squad to their active roster. Nevertheless, the lack of urgency at wide receiver is somewhat puzzling given the dearth of wide receiving depth on the 53 and within the organization.