The Pittsburgh Steelers have had quite a few interesting developments pop up on the offensive line. After their preseason Week 2 game, most of them were negative reports, especially with how often the young quarterbacks were pressured. What it really showed is that Pittsburgh seems to lack depth across the unit. It didn't help that first-round pick Max Iheanachor has missed the last two weeks due to injury. For a guy that was competing for the starting job at right tackle, this "stinger" all but confirmed that he would start the season as a backup.
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Steelers' Max Iheanachor puts his helmet on during mandatory minicamp in 2026.
During a pre-practice press conference, Head Coach Mike McCarthy announced that a few players would return from injury, and Iheanachor was one of them. With how quiet everyone was about it previously, questions started popping up about how severe it actually was, especially since it was described as a neck/shoulder issue. Those tend to require extra care to make sure the player comes back healthy.
After Monday's practice, Iheanachor spoke about where he's at now and what the plans are for him in the near future, as noted by Nick Farabaugh.
"Max Iheanachor said the plan right now is for him to play Thursday in Buffalo," Farabaugh explained. "Added he was a full go in a padded practice today."
Whatever this upper-body injury truly was, it seems to be fully healed now. Iheanachor has no limitations in practice and can go back to working on his development. Because of all the time he missed, it is all but confirmed that he will be the backup to begin Week 1. He is going to have to take a massive jump in progression this week against the Buffalo Bills to truly make this a conversation.
Still, the fact that he is a "full go" for practice and the upcoming preseason game is great news. Iheanachor will at least get a baseline for how well he does against actual opponents instead of his own teammates, which will be a boost to his development. Eventually, you learn your teammates so well that you figure out how to beat them, but that doesn't always translate to actual games.
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Pittsburgh Steelers offensive tackle Max Iheanachor (71) during 2026 training camp at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, PA.
Even if the door appears to be closed for Iheanachor to start in Week 1, it's not closed for the whole season. He will still likely get some reps on special teams and possibly in jumbo sets to help get him some type of in-game action during the regular season. He is seen as a man with insane upside, so if he can start realizing it during the season, he could leapfrog Dylan Cook on the depth chart.
Steelers Need Iheanachor To Be Ready To Go In Case Of Emergency
As mentioned before, the depth at offensive tackle is not as great as it seemed to be prior to the preseason. The offensive line as a whole has struggled to gel together with all the changes that were made back in April, as nearly every single starter switched sides. The offensive tackle position, in particular, has played the worst in the two preseason games with Iheanachor watching from the sidelines.
The fact that Broderick Jones was able to come back from his neck injury is impressive. His performance, however, has been far from that. He has seen work at both the left and right sides, and he has not been able to hold his own. At this point, he's fighting for a spot on the 53-man roster. If Iheanachor plays decently enough, he's going to take Jones' backup spot with ease.
On the other hand, Jones could make the roster since Jack Driscoll performed extremely poorly as well. He is expected to make the practice squad, but again, if something unfortunate happens, the Steelers likely wouldn't be comfortable calling him up and giving him legitimate reps. At this point, it feels like it's Iheanachor or bust, barring a sudden depth signing.
What do you think about Iheanachor's positive update? Let us know on X at @Steelers_ChrisB.
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