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CBS News
3 days ago
- Health
- CBS News
A knee injury cost Steelers' Troy Fautanu his rookie season. Hitting reset wasn't easy
The moment when Troy Fautanu's rookie season came to a painful halt is seared into his brain. Asked to relive it on Wednesday after a rainy organized team activity, the Pittsburgh Steelers offensive tackle lifted his massive right hand and pointed toward one of the far end zones in the fields tucked behind the club's practice facility. It was a Friday in late September. The 20th overall pick in the 2024 draft was coming off the first start of his career in Week 2 against Denver, fully healed from a sprained left knee that forced him to miss most of the preseason. Fautanu trotted onto the practice field with the rest of the offense for a series of 2-point conversion drills called "seven shots." Fautanu backpedaled to set up in pass protection when his right knee "got caught up in the ground weird." The rest of his 6-foot-4, 317-pound frame kept moving. His leg did not. The result? A tear in the ligament is designed to keep the knee stable. Season-ending surgery soon followed, with lingering doubts about whether he could make it back not far behind. "There were a lot of nights where you can't really see the light on the other side of the tunnel," Fautanu said. It wasn't just the daunting physical rehab, but the emotional toll that came along with it. He knew, as a first-round pick, that his job was to get on the field as quickly as possible. Now that was gone. He had already bought tickets for his family to come watch him play. Now they would hop on planes to watch him stand on the sidelines in sweats instead of on the field in his No. 76 uniform. For a player of Polynesian descent who counts Steelers Hall of Famer Troy Polamalu as one of his role models, and who had never really been hurt before, and now found himself recovering a couple of thousand miles from home. It felt extraordinarily difficult in the moment. Looking back now, he believes it was also one of growth. He realized - with the help of nearly daily phone calls with his mother, Ma, - that he needed to stop trying to fast-forward to the end and lean into the healing process instead. "I would say I was my biggest enemy sometimes, thinking about the future when really I had to just lock into what was going on that day," Fautanu said. "But I felt like once I did lock in and really just focus on the day-to-day, I really turned a corner on my recovery." The Steelers feel confident enough in Fautanu's recovery that they have finally executed a long-gestating plan to have Fautanu start at right tackle with Broderick Jones, their top pick in 2023, moving to left tackle. (The real beneficiary of Fautanu's misfortune may be Dan Moore Jr., who held down left tackle all of last season when Jones was forced to stay on the right side with Fautanu out. Moore signed a massive four-year deal with Tennessee in March.) The plan is to bring Fautanu along slowly. It's a plan Fautanu is fully on board with, though he'd be lying if he wanted to throw caution to the wind when that familiar adrenaline spike hit the first time he lined up when OTAs began on Tuesday "Once I took that first rep, it's like ... 'I don't want to get out. I don't want to want to get out,'" Fautanu said with a laugh, covering his mouth briefly after uttering an expletive to punctuate his point. "So yeah, it's also like trying to be smart, but I'm a competitor, man. I love being out there." So do the Steelers, who have invested heavily in the offensive line in recent years while their search for a franchise quarterback continues. If all goes as planned, Jones and Fautanu will serve as the bookends, with second-year center Zach Frazier in the middle, flanked by second-year guard Mason McCormick and veteran Isaac Seumalo. Fautanu doesn't think it will take long for the group to gel, in part because they're already "super tight," a bond that firmly took hold last fall as he navigated an uncertain path back to the field that was more daunting than he anticipated. It wasn't fun. But it might have been necessary for someone who believes everything happens for a reason. "It made me more hungry than I already was, and I was pretty damn ready to play," he said. "But yeah, I mean those nights sitting in my room like man, am I gonna come back, this, that, and the other. There's a whole lot of thoughts going through my head, but at the end of the day, I made it through and I feel like that's what made me stronger. That's what's going to make me and feel me to play the best that I can for this team."
New York Times
6 days ago
- Business
- New York Times
What a healthy Troy Fautanu and leaner Broderick Jones mean for the Steelers' O-line
PITTSBURGH — On a dreary Wednesday in Western Pennsylvania, as the rain poured relentlessly, Pittsburgh Steelers right tackle Troy Fautanu beamed with excitement, knowing that his return to the playing field signaled the end of his personal storm. 'Man, I've been looking forward to this for a really long time,' Fautanu said after the Steelers' second day of organized team activities. 'It's felt like a million years since I've been back out here.' Advertisement When the Steelers drafted Fautanu in the first round in 2024, the hope was that he could help transform a weakness on the offensive line into a strength. He impressed during training camp to put himself in position for early playing time. But during the preseason, he sustained a minor injury to his left knee that delayed his debut until Week 2 in Denver, where he played 55 offensive snaps. The following week, several members of Fautanu's extended family had flights booked to Pittsburgh to watch the rookie in his first home game at Acrisure Stadium. However, it turned out that the tough injury luck was only beginning. 'I remember exactly where it was,' Fautanu said Wednesday, pointing to the end zone. 'It was over there.' On the Friday ahead of the Week 3 game against the Los Angeles Chargers, the Steelers began practice with their classic drill, Seven Shots, which features seven plays from the 2-yard line. 'I was trying to anchor down,' Fautanu said. 'My foot just got caught in the ground weird. My body twisted. My leg didn't.' The torque tore the medial patellofemoral ligament in the 6-foot-4, 315-pound lineman's right knee and dislocated his kneecap momentarily. An MRI confirmed the news, and he was placed on injured reserve. Fautanu would have to undergo surgery in Los Angeles, followed by a rehab process estimated at four to six months. Though he didn't realize it right away, Fautanu's rookie season was over less than a week after it began. 'Once that happened, there were a lot of nights where you can't really see the light on the other side of the tunnel,' Fautanu said. 'You put so much into preparing for your rookie year. It was heartbreaking for me.' Fautanu, a deep thinker who says he can sometimes get himself into trouble on the field by overthinking, felt he 'didn't handle it the best' at times, as the weight of expectation and the early roadblock in his career festered into frustration. Advertisement 'You're going to have those good days, and you're gonna have those bad days,' Fautanu said. 'The good days were good, and the bad days were really bad. I was just thinking about, 'Am I gonna make it back? Is the team expecting me to be back?' There was a whole lot of stuff going through my head at the time.' Of all the teammates, coaches and others who supported Fautanu through the rehab process, he leaned most on his mother. 'My mom always knows best,' Fautanu said. 'When I'd get in those slumps, she'd call me and she knew what I was going through.' Now, about eight months removed from surgery, Fautanu is nearing the end of his long road to recovery. The coaches have been careful to work Fautanu back methodically. He's nearly up to full strength and expects he'll be a full participant when the pads come on at training camp. 'It made me more hungry than I already was,' Fautanu said. 'And I was pretty damn ready to play.' With Fautanu nearing full health, Steelers GM Omar Khan's vision for the offensive line can finally become a reality. From the moment Khan was promoted to general manager, he's made it a priority to remake the offensive line and build a team that can win games at the line of scrimmage. In his first two drafts, Khan spent two first-round picks on tackles (Broderick Jones in 2023 and Fautanu in 2024), a second-round pick at center (Zach Frazier in 2024) and a fourth-round pick at guard (Mason McCormick in 2024). Though the process is sound, the return on investment hasn't yet been realized. During the 2024 season, former left tackle Dan Moore Jr. allowed a league-high 12 sacks. Jones finished tied for second in that unflattering category with 11 sacks allowed. At the same time, the offensive line didn't open holes for running backs frequently enough, as Pittsburgh averaged just 4.1 yards per carry. Only six teams were less efficient on the ground. Advertisement Fautanu's return in and of itself is significant. It's essentially like an extra first-round pick. But the ripple effect is just as important. Even before the Steelers drafted Fautanu, they planned to play Jones at left tackle in the long term. However, that didn't come to fruition in 2024 because of Fautanu's injury, which forced Jones to spend his second NFL season on the right side. Though Jones has all the physical traits to be a successful tackle in the NFL, he also entered the league a bit raw after starting just 19 games at Georgia. Despite Jones' inexperience, the Steelers threw a lot onto his plate, asking him to start at right tackle and then, at some uncertain point, flip to the left side. With Fautanu back, Jones can focus his attention on just one position as he tries to prove he can play like a first-round pick following a pair of up-and-down seasons. 'They tried to make me the swing tackle (last year),' Jones said. 'It was kind of funky. I knew I'll be going back to left, so this offseason, I just tried to focus on nothing but the left side.' Jones reported to OTAs noticeably leaner, which was intentional. He played last year around 325-330 pounds and has now dropped about 20 pounds to be around 305 or 310. At times in Jones' second season, he didn't have the same quick feet that were a signature of his game. By slimming down, he's been more explosive at practice. 'Being back on the left, I feel like it's a bigger boost for me, just because I've been used to playing on the left side,' Jones said. 'Being out here going against people like Alex (Highsmith) and Nick (Herbig), it really helps with the confidence level. When you're able to block guys like that, it makes you feel like you can do it at any level versus anybody.' Fautanu and Jones are now in their long-term spots on the depth chart, but the spotlight is only beginning to shine on these two players. When Khan chose to take a patient, trench-oriented approach to roster building, it was a logical strategy for a team that needed upgrades, especially if it wanted to have a run-heavy offense. Now in Year 3 of the Khan era, it's time for the offensive line to become the reason the Steelers are competitive late into seasons. Advertisement But those bright lights are a welcome change for Fautanu after many dark days of rehab. 'Those nights sitting in my room, like, 'Man, am I going to come back from this?'' Fautanu said. 'But at the end of the day, I made it through. I feel like that's what made me stronger. That's what's going to make me and fuel me to play the best that I can for this team.' (Photo of Troy Fautanu: Joe Sargent / Getty Images)
CBS News
6 days ago
- General
- CBS News
Troy Fautanu ready for upcoming season after injury derailed rookie campaign
The Steelers' offensive line is going to look a bit different this season, in part because Troy Fautanu is healthy again and back on the field. Fautanu, the team's first round pick last year, says he's excited to be back on the field after spending nearly all of last season on the sidelines. After suffering a knee injury early in the season, Fautanu was placed on injured reserve and only appeared in one game for the Steelers. Fautanu says dealing with the injury was a difficult time for him, but he's happy to be on the other side of it now. "I wouldn't say I handled it the best some of the time," Fautanu said. "I would say I was my biggest enemy sometimes and thinking about my future when I really just had to lock in what was going on that day." Fautanu said that once he was able to focus on the day to day, he felt he was able to turn corner in the recovery from his injury. PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA - JUNE 6: Troy Fautanu #76 of the Pittsburgh Steelers works out during the Pittsburgh Steelers OTA offseason workout at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex on June 6 2024 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Joe Sargent / Getty Images With Fautanu back in the mix for the Steelers, there will be some movement on the offensive line. Broderick Jones, who moved to right tackle in Fautanu's absence, will be back in his original spot at left tackle and Fautanu will be on the right side. "Being back on the left, I feel like it's a bigger boost for me," Jones said. "Just because I've been used to playing on the left side." "At the end of the day, I made it through and I feel like that's what made me stronger and that's what's gonna make me play the best I can for this team," Fautanu said. Thursday will be the final day of Organized Team Activities for the Steelers.
San Francisco Chronicle
6 days ago
- Sport
- San Francisco Chronicle
A knee injury cost Steelers' Troy Fautanu his rookie season. Hitting reset wasn't easy
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The moment when Troy Fautanu's rookie season came to a painful halt is seared into his brain. Asked to relive it on Wednesday after a rainy organized team activity, the Pittsburgh Steelers offensive tackle lifted his massive right hand and pointed toward one of the far end zones in the fields tucked behind the club's practice facility. It was a Friday in late September. The 20th overall pick in the 2024 draft was coming off the first start of his career in Week 2 against Denver, fully healed from a sprained left knee that forced him to miss most of the preseason. Fautanu trotted onto the practice field with the rest of the offense for a series of 2-point conversion drills called 'seven shots.' Fautanu backpedaled to set up in pass protection when his right knee 'got caught up in the ground weird.' The rest of his 6-foot-4, 317-pound frame kept moving. His leg did not. The result? A tear in the ligament designed to keep the knee stable. Season-ending surgery soon followed, with lingering doubts about whether he could make it back not far behind. 'There were a lot of nights where you can't really see the light on the other side of the tunnel,' Fautanu said. It wasn't just the daunting physical rehab, but the emotional toll that came along with it. He knew as a first-round pick, that his job was to get on the field as quickly as possible. Now that was gone. He had already bought tickets for his family to come watch him play. Now they would hop on planes to watch him stand on the sidelines in sweats instead of on the field in his No. 76 uniform. For a player of Polynesian descent who counts Steelers Hall of Famer Troy Polamalu as one of his role models, and who had never really been hurt before and now found himself recovering a couple of thousand miles from home. It felt extraordinarily difficult in the moment. Looking back now, he believes it was also one of growth. He realized — with the help of nearly daily phone calls with his mother, Ma, — that he needed to stop trying to fast-forward to the end and lean into the healing process instead. 'I would say I was my biggest enemy sometimes, thinking about the future when really I had to just lock into what was going on that day," Fautanu said. 'But I felt like once I did lock in and really just focus on the day to day, I really like turned a corner on my recovery.' The Steelers feel confident enough in Fautanu's recovery that they have finally executed a long-gestating plan to have Fautanu start at right tackle with Broderick Jones — their top pick in 2023 — moving to left tackle. (The real beneficiary of Fautanu's misfortune may be Dan Moore Jr., who held down left tackle all of last season when Jones was forced to stay on the right side with Fautanu out. Moore signed a massive four-year deal with Tennessee in March.) The plan is to bring Fautanu along slowly. It's a plan Fautanu is fully on board with, though he'd be lying if he wanted to throw caution to the wind when that familiar adrenaline spike hit the first time he lined up when OTAs began on Tuesday. 'Once I took that first rep, it's like ... 'I don't want to get out. I don't want to want to get out,'' Fautanu said with a laugh, covering his mouth briefly after uttering an expletive to punctuate his point. 'So yeah, it's also like trying to be smart, but I'm a competitor, man. I love being out there.' So do the Steelers, who have invested heavily in the offensive line in recent years while their search for a franchise quarterback continues. If all goes as planned, Jones and Fautanu will serve as the bookends, with second-year center Zach Frazier in the middle, flanked by second-year guard Mason McCormick and veteran Isaac Seumalo. Fautanu doesn't think it will take long for the group to gel, in part because they're already 'super tight,' a bond that firmly took hold last fall as he navigated an uncertain path back to the field that was for more daunting than he anticipated. It wasn't fun. But it might have been necessary for someone who believes everything happens for a reason. 'It made me more hungry than I already was, and I was pretty damn ready to play,' he said. 'But yeah, I mean those nights sitting in my room like man, am I gonna come back, this, that and the other. There's a whole lot of thoughts going through my head, but at the end of the day I made it through and I feel like that's what made me stronger. That's what's going to make me and feel me to play the best that I can for this team."
Winnipeg Free Press
6 days ago
- Sport
- Winnipeg Free Press
A knee injury cost Steelers' Troy Fautanu his rookie season. Hitting reset wasn't easy
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The moment when Troy Fautanu's rookie season came to a painful halt is seared into his brain. Asked to relive it on Wednesday after a rainy organized team activity, the Pittsburgh Steelers offensive tackle lifted his massive right hand and pointed toward one of the far end zones in the fields tucked behind the club's practice facility. It was a Friday in late September. The 20th overall pick in the 2024 draft was coming off the first start of his career in Week 2 against Denver, fully healed from a sprained left knee that forced him to miss most of the preseason. Fautanu trotted onto the practice field with the rest of the offense for a series of 2-point conversion drills called 'seven shots.' Fautanu backpedaled to set up in pass protection when his right knee 'got caught up in the ground weird.' The rest of his 6-foot-4, 317-pound frame kept moving. His leg did not. The result? A tear in the ligament designed to keep the knee stable. Season-ending surgery soon followed, with lingering doubts about whether he could make it back not far behind. 'There were a lot of nights where you can't really see the light on the other side of the tunnel,' Fautanu said. It wasn't just the daunting physical rehab, but the emotional toll that came along with it. He knew as a first-round pick, that his job was to get on the field as quickly as possible. Now that was gone. He had already bought tickets for his family to come watch him play. Now they would hop on planes to watch him stand on the sidelines in sweats instead of on the field in his No. 76 uniform. For a player of Polynesian descent who counts Steelers Hall of Famer Troy Polamalu as one of his role models, and who had never really been hurt before and now found himself recovering a couple of thousand miles from home. It felt extraordinarily difficult in the moment. Looking back now, he believes it was also one of growth. He realized — with the help of nearly daily phone calls with his mother, Ma, — that he needed to stop trying to fast-forward to the end and lean into the healing process instead. 'I would say I was my biggest enemy sometimes, thinking about the future when really I had to just lock into what was going on that day,' Fautanu said. 'But I felt like once I did lock in and really just focus on the day to day, I really like turned a corner on my recovery.' The Steelers feel confident enough in Fautanu's recovery that they have finally executed a long-gestating plan to have Fautanu start at right tackle with Broderick Jones — their top pick in 2023 — moving to left tackle. (The real beneficiary of Fautanu's misfortune may be Dan Moore Jr., who held down left tackle all of last season when Jones was forced to stay on the right side with Fautanu out. Moore signed a massive four-year deal with Tennessee in March.) The plan is to bring Fautanu along slowly. It's a plan Fautanu is fully on board with, though he'd be lying if he wanted to throw caution to the wind when that familiar adrenaline spike hit the first time he lined up when OTAs began on Tuesday. 'Once I took that first rep, it's like … 'I don't want to get out. I don't want to want to get out,'' Fautanu said with a laugh, covering his mouth briefly after uttering an expletive to punctuate his point. 'So yeah, it's also like trying to be smart, but I'm a competitor, man. I love being out there.' So do the Steelers, who have invested heavily in the offensive line in recent years while their search for a franchise quarterback continues. If all goes as planned, Jones and Fautanu will serve as the bookends, with second-year center Zach Frazier in the middle, flanked by second-year guard Mason McCormick and veteran Isaac Seumalo. Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. Fautanu doesn't think it will take long for the group to gel, in part because they're already 'super tight,' a bond that firmly took hold last fall as he navigated an uncertain path back to the field that was for more daunting than he anticipated. It wasn't fun. But it might have been necessary for someone who believes everything happens for a reason. 'It made me more hungry than I already was, and I was pretty damn ready to play,' he said. 'But yeah, I mean those nights sitting in my room like man, am I gonna come back, this, that and the other. There's a whole lot of thoughts going through my head, but at the end of the day I made it through and I feel like that's what made me stronger. That's what's going to make me and feel me to play the best that I can for this team.' ___ AP NFL:
