Steelers Rookie Tackle Max Iheanachor Has No Firm Return Date After Injury Setback
The Pittsburgh Steelers spent this offseason building around quarterback Aaron Rodgers, and one of the biggest bets was drafting Arizona State offensive tackle Max Iheanachor with the No. 21 overall pick. That investment hit a snag this week. According to ClutchPoints, Iheanachor left Thursday’s practice at St. Vincent College early after appearing to injure his upper body during team drills.
Pittsburgh’s training staff worked on the 6-foot-6, 321-pound rookie’s neck and shoulder area on the sideline before he took off his helmet and headed to the locker room. Mike DeFabo of The Athletic was first to report the exit, and multiple outlets on-site described it as a shoulder or neck issue, though the team hadn’t confirmed a diagnosis.
McCarthy Pushes Back the Return Timeline
Head coach Mike McCarthy initially sounded optimistic. He told reporters Friday that the injury “wasn’t serious” and that he expected Iheanachor back at practice by Monday. That timeline didn’t hold. McCarthy confirmed Iheanachor would not practice Monday either, and he did not give reporters a new target date, according to Behind the Steel Curtain.
“I thought he definitely picked it up the last two practices with more opportunities opened up to him,” McCarthy said of Iheanachor’s camp performance before the injury, via Behind the Steel Curtain, citing Nick Farabaugh.
Note: A specific McCarthy quote and exact update were also attributed to ESPN’s Brooke Pryor in the source material provided for this piece, but the linked X post could not be independently verified during fact-checking. That claim is reflected above only through the verified Behind the Steel Curtain report, and the unverifiable link has been dropped rather than published.
Broderick Jones Fills the Gap
With Iheanachor sidelined, second-year lineman Broderick Jones has picked up added reps at right tackle. Jones, the Steelers’ 2024 first-round pick, is himself working back from offseason neck surgery, which has made the offensive line rotation in Latrobe a bit of a moving puzzle through the first week and a half of camp.
Practice at St. Vincent College has been anything but smooth sailing this week — Pittsburgh dealt with rolling thunderstorms that pushed back start times and forced the team to work around closed windows between storm cells, according to the Steel Curtain Network’s practice tracker.
A Big Summer for the Rookie
The timing stings for Iheanachor. He’d opened camp drawing praise for his reps against All-Pro edge rusher T.J. Watt, and the Steelers listed him as the primary backup right tackle behind Dylan Cook on their first camp depth chart. Back in the spring, Brian Batko of the Post-Gazette reported that Iheanachor began his pro career running with Pittsburgh’s second-team offense at right tackle — a sign the coaching staff wanted him developing behind Cook rather than rushing him into a starting job.
Missing practice time now means missing “hump week,” the stretch of camp when padded, full-contact reps against Pittsburgh’s veteran pass rushers matter most for a rookie’s development. Every day Iheanachor sits is a day of live reps he doesn’t get back before the regular season.
Iheanachor’s Path to the NFL
| Category | Detail |
|---|---|
| College | East Los Angeles (2021-22), Arizona State (2023-25) |
| 2026 Draft Position | Round 1, Pick 21 |
| Height/Weight | 6-foot-6, 321 pounds |
| Camp Depth Chart Spot (pre-injury) | RT2, behind Dylan Cook |
Pittsburgh doesn’t have much incentive to rush him back. Cook has the experience edge and earned the coaching staff’s trust with his play last season, so there’s no artificial deadline forcing Iheanachor onto the field before he’s ready. The bigger concern is simply reps — he entered the league with just 32 career college appearances, having started football relatively late for a first-round tackle prospect. Every practice he misses is technique work — hand placement, footwork, handling a rusher who changes plans mid-rep — that he doesn’t get to bank before Week 1.
The Steelers have not released a formal timetable, and McCarthy has declined to specify the nature of the injury beyond the upper-body designation. Pittsburgh’s next practice update should clarify whether Iheanachor is trending toward a return this week.
