Former Steelers Lineman Suffers Severe Triceps Injury

Former Pittsburgh Steelers center and guard J.C. Hassenauer suffered a serious triceps injury and will require surgery on the injury, keeping him out for an extended period of time. He could be out for the entire season after suffering the injury in practice on Sunday.

Hassenauer signed with the New York Giants in the offseason, likely proving to be a key depth piece on the interior of their offensive line. He was one of the players that the team let walk to reconfigure their offensive line depth and shuffle the board around up front.

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The Steelers originally signed Hassenauer in 2019, after he had been playing with the Birmingham Iron in the AAF. He did not make the team that year, but was re-signed to the club after center Maurkice Pouncey was suspended for his role in the Myles Garrett-Mason Rudolph brawl.

He turned that late-season run on the Steelers’ 2019 practice squad into an opportunity for 2020, when Hassenauer won a role as Maurkice Pouncey’s top backup at center. In 2020, he made four starts as Pouncey’s backup. In 2021, Hassenauer lost a training camp battle to rookie Kendrick Green, but came on and replaced Green late in the season, taking the job from the third-round rookie after his injury.

Last season, Hassenauer backed up center Mason Cole and played in 46 snaps of offensive over 17 games.

The Steelers have aggressively added to the interior of their offensive line this offseason, adding Isaac Seumalo and Nate Herbig to the mix, and have continued to scout the top interior linemen in the 2023 NFL Draft.

The combination of additions made it unlikely that Hassenauer was going to be able to retain his role with the Steelers in 2023. Giants head coach Brian Daboll was the offensive coordinator at Alabama for Hassenauer in 2017.