Aug 9, 2015 3 min read

CANTON, Ohio – The Steelers not only lost their preseason opener Sunday night to the Minnesota Vikings, they also lost placekicker Shaun Suisham for the season.

Suisham suffered a torn ACL and cartilage damage in his left leg attempting to make a tackle on the opening kickoff of the second half of Sunday night’s 14-3 loss to Minnesota in the Hall of Fame Game and will require surgery.

“Oh wow, that would definitely be a blow,” said fullback Will Johnson, one of the Steelers’ key special teams players. “He’s a big part of our offense. We go around him. He’s automatic. If it is (a lengthy injury), that’s definitely a huge blow to us.”

Suisham, 33, had a career-best 132 points for the Steelers in 2014, ranking seventh in the NFL. He made 29-of-32 field goal attempts last season and has made 85 of his 89 field goal attempts inside of 50 yards over the past three seasons.

“From what they said on video, it was non-contact,” said long-snapper Greg Warren. “It’s scary, because this is what you do. You work so hard to get ready for this. To have that taken away would be tough.”

Making matters worse, the Steelers did not have another placekicker in training camp this year and will now be forced to scan the waiver wire for at least one, or even two, possible replacements.

They will work out Alex Henery, Jay Feely and Garret Hartley with the expectation of signing one of them.

The 27-year-old Henery was with Philadelphia from 2011-2013, making 86 percent of his field goal attempts, but made just 1 of 5 last season in Detroit before being released.

Feely, 39, has kicked for six teams in his NFL career, including a four-game stint in Chicago last season. In his last full season in 2013 with Arizona, he made 30 of 36 field goal attempts.

Hartley, 29, spent two games with Cleveland last season, making all three of his field goal attempts. Prior to that, he spent time with New Orleans and has made 85 of 104 career field goals.

Suisham, 33, was in training camp with the Steelers in 2005 as a rookie out of Bowling Green but was released in favor of Jeff Reed.

He bounced back and forth between the Cowboys and Redskins over the next five seasons before returning to the Steelers in 2010. Suisham has made 124 of 141 field goal attempts in five seasons with the Steelers, a conversion percentage of 87.9 percent, the best in team history.

Making matters worse, the NFL this season has moved PAT attempts back to the 15-yard line, making it a 33-yard attempt. Suisham is 34 of 38 from between 30 and 39 yards since joining the Steelers.

“He has the respect of all of the players and he works at it, too,” said Johnson. “It shows in games. Once you get into the red zone and you don’t turn the ball over, it’s almost an automatic three points with Suisham.”