The Steelers lost nose tackle Casey Hampton early in Sunday’s loss to the Broncos, with a knee injury. As pointed out in PFT’s Friday one-liners, the veteran won’t need offseason surgery to fix the joint.
Hampton is lucky. Most ACL injuries require surgery. Usually, an ACL tear results in a full construction of the ligament.
In Hampton’s case, the tear was sufficiently slight to avoid surgery, per the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Which means he won’t be spending the full offseason rehabbing as he gets ready for what will be his 12th NFL season.
Two other key players weren’t as lucky; center Maurkice Pouncey has undergone ankle surgery, and guard/center Doug Legursky needs shoulder surgery.
Hampton is due to earn a base salary of $5 million in 2012, the final year of his current contract.
