:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/46933056/usa-today-8185440.0.jpg)
Shaun Suisham appeared to have his leg bent backwards in the first half of the Pittsburgh Steelers' opening preseason game against the Minnesota Vikings in Canton, Ohio last night. The initial reports were not good, and the worst fears have been come true.
Suisham was injured trying to make a sideline tackle on a kickoff and got caught in a pile up of players.
Going into today, the last shred of hope for Suisham to be able to recover for this season would have been if doctors found any better news from his MRI so that he would not need season ending surgery.
#Steelers K Shaun Suisham has told people the belief is he tore his ACL. He’s having an MRI today to be sure. Will be a tough loss.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 10, 2015
Unfortunately the MRI showed just how bad his injury was and that Suisham is done for the season.
Suisham will have surgery, per report: #Steelers http://t.co/36gKOfvJxY via @Dejan_Kovacevic @NealCoolong
— Neal Coolong (@NealCoolong) August 10, 2015
Steelers kicker Shaun Suisham tore his ACL, per @pittsburghpg. Leaves Pittsburgh searching for a new kicker to do his job in tough venue.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 10, 2015
Now the Steelers must find a replacement kicker in a month's time to be ready for the opening game of the season and be consistent enough throughout the year. This could be a tall order considering this being the first year the NFL extended extra points back for longer distances and Heinz Field being one of the hardest venues for kickers to succeed in.
Suisham had been the definition of reliable in his past three seasons with the Steelers, recording field goal percentages between 90 and 93.8 all three years. In 81 attempts from under 50 yards, he was 77-81.