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The Steelers may be without the best 3-4 defensive end in the league for the rest of the regular season.
Steel City Insider (part of Scout.com) reports that a team source says Aaron Smith will undergo surgery on a torn rotator cuff on Friday. The recovery period is expected to be three months, which means Smith would not be available until the playoffs, assuming the Steelers get that far.
Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that Pittsburgh Steelers DE Aaron Smith will likely miss this week's game against Cleveland due to a shoulder injury.
Smith sustained the injury in Sunday's 28-20 victory over Detroit.
Head coach Mike Tomlin says that the injury "potentially could be significant," so the Steelers may be without a vital piece of their 3-4 defense for some time. Tomlin also said that rookie end Ziggy Hood is not yet prepared to start in Smith's stead, so they will be forced to use a line-by-committee approach.
For more Steelers news and analysis, head over to Behind the Steel Curtain.
Worse Than Expected: Aaron Smith Placed on Injured Reserve
Tuesday’s report from Steel City Insider turned out to be mostly true: defensive end Aaron Smith will undergo surgery for a torn rotator cuff. The part of the report that wasn’t accurate: how much time he’ll miss.
According to Adam Schefter, the Steelers have placed Smith on injured reserve, thus ending his 2009 season. He was previously believed to only be out three months. Obviously a massive blow to Pittsburgh’s defense, which will now go DE-by-committee. Part of said committee will include Ra’shon Harris, who they signed off the Panthers practice squad to fill Smith's roster spot.
Oct 14 9:22a by Chris Mottram - 0 comments