The Steelers have placed starting LT Max Starks on the Injured Reserve List with a neck injury which is going to require surgery.  Starks played in 7 games (all starts) for the Steelers this year and he has played in 95 games (68 starts) in his career with them.  Rookie 5th round pick Chris Scott will likely take over as the starting LT for the Steelers going forward.  His next game will be the first one of his NFL career.  Ben Roethlisberger is going to need to grow eyes in the back of his head with Scott on his blind side.

34-year old starting DE Aaron Smith is likely done for the year after having surgery to repair a torn left triceps muscle  injured against the Dolphins last Sunday.  Smith played in 6 games for the Steelers this year and he had 15 tackles including 1 tackle for a loss.  Smith has now played in 156 games in his career with the Steelers and he has 445 tackles, 20 passes defensed, 44 sacks, 7 forced fumbles and 1 interception.  This will hurt the Steelers’ D.

The Steelers have placed 25-year old QB Dennis Dixon on Injured Reserve due to a torn left lateral meniscus in his knee which required surgery to repair.  Dixon played in 2 games for the Steelers this year and he completed 22 of 32 passes (68.8%) for 254 yards with 0 TD passes and 1 INT (79.4 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 5 times for 32 yards (6.4 ypc).  The Steelers will depend on Charlie Batch and Byron Leftwich behind Ben Roethlisberger the rest of the 2010 season.

The Steelers have lost 34-year old NT Chris Hoke for at least the next 2 weeks due to a sprained MCL in his right knee.  Hoke has played in 3 games for the Steelers so far this year and he has 5 tackles and a fumble recovery.  With Casey Hampton also out of action against the Ravens this weekend the Steelers might have to activate Steve McClendon off the practice squad and give him a lot of P.T.  He has played in 1 game for the Steelers this year and he has 1 tackle and 1 fumble recovery.

Dennis Dixon has a torn meniscus in his left knee and he will be out indefinitely.  Dixon started the first two games of the year for the Steelers and he completed 22 of 32 passes (68.8%) for 254 yards with 0 TD passes and 1 INT (79.4 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 5 times for 32 yards (6.4 ypc) this year.  With Dixon out of action for a while it will be either Charlie Batch or Byron Leftwich starting the next couple of games at QB for the Steelers.

UPDATE:  (9/21/2010) – Dennis Dixon will undergo surgery on his left knee on Wednesday which will cause him to miss the next 3-5 weeks.

The Steelers will be without perennial Pro-Bowl DT Casey Hampton this Sunday due to a hamstring injury.  Hampton only had 1 tackle in the season opener against the Falcons last weekend.  Chris Hoke will replace Hampton in the starting lineup this week and he also had 1 tackle last weekend.  But Hoke doesn’t demand a double team like Hampton does which will hurt the inside linebackers of the Steelers this weekend and they would have had their hands full anyways with Chris Johnson going up against them.

The Steelers will likely be without starting LT Max Starks for multiple weeks due to a high ankle sprain.  Veteran Flozell Adams will likely shift to the left side to block on Dennis Dixon’s blind side so he will likely need eyes in the back of his head.  Either Tony Hillis or Jonathan Scott will likely start at RT until Starks is ready to return.  This will hurt the Steelers offense as Starks was the best lineman they had healthy when the season started.

The Steelers will be without 30-year old QB Byron Leftwich for the next 2-4 weeks as a has a second degree sprain of his left MCL.  Leftwich was injured in the Steelers last pre-season game against the Panthers on Thursday Night.  He was likely going to be the Steelers’ starting QB next week against the Atlanta Falcons but they will have to now turn to Charlie Batch or Dennis Dixon.  This could wind up being a big blow for the Steelers.

The Steelers have placed 28-year old OLB Andre Frazier on Injured Reserve due to a knee problem ending his season.  Frazier played in 14 games for the Steelers last season and he had 13 tackles.  He has played in 48 games in four years for the Steelers and he has 41 tackles, 2 sacks and 1 forced fumble.  This is not a big loss for the Steelers as Frazier’s main role was on special teams.

The Steelers have lost starting OT Willie Colon for the 2010 season.  He tore his ACL at practice earlier today and he will soon have surgery to repair it.  The 27-year old Colon played in 16 games (all starts) for the Steelers last season.  In his four years with the Steelers he has played in 50 games (all starts).  This is a huge blow to the Steelers’ offense as Colon was the best lineman on their team last season.