Report: Steelers QB Bruce Gradkowski suffers "sizable hamstring tear", making his future uncertain

Sometimes players just don't have luck on their side. You hear stories about players coming back from injury, only to suffer the same, or another serious injury, putting them back on the shelf for an extended period of time.

For Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Bruce Gradkowski, he has been through the ringer the past two seasons.

In 2014 he was the steady backup for Ben Roethlisberger, but 2015 saw nothing but pain for the former Toledo quarterback. He started the year on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list with a shoulder injury, then when returning from his injury, he severely dislocated his finger while trying to recover a fumble in a preseason game.

The team placed him on season-ending injured reserve shortly after the injury was evaluated.

Fast forward to 2016, and Gradkowski saw his first game action in a calendar year, and it was short lived as he left with a hamstring injury after a nice scramble in the game.

ESPN's Jeremy Fowler is reporting the injury is more serious than some might think.

"Steelers QB Bruce Gradkowski has sizable hamstring tear, per source. Could be out a while. Landry Jones and Dustin Vaughan primary backups for now."

The injury to Gradkowski does more than just put his 2016 season in jeopardy, but his NFL career. The veteran quarterback has struggled to stay healthy, and he might have reached the end of the road, in terms of his professional football career.

Mike Tomlin stated he hadn't checked on Gradkowski's status after practice Monday, but did mention he was in Pittsburgh speaking with a team physician.

The injury could open the door for another quarterback to solidify a spot on the team's 53-man roster. Landry Jones seems to be a lock as the primary backup, but Dustin Vaughan now has a chance to be the No. 3 quarterback. They both will get the chance to prove their worth in Week 2 of the preseason when the Steelers host the Philadelphia Eagles this Thursday night.

If they don't, expect the Steelers to start searching the waiver wire when teams cut their rosters from 90 to 75 players.