Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Dennis Dixon had been hoping that his knee injury wasn’t too serious and that he might be able to play against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers next Sunday. It wasn’t meant to be. Dixon will undergo surgery on Wednesday to repair the torn meniscus in his left knee, and consequently is expected to miss the remainder of the 2010 season.
Terrible news for the young man, as it was plainly obvious how badly he wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to play. The Steelers now turn to either Charlie Batch or recently re-signed Byron Leftwich to lead them in Week 3. Leftwich, of course, is coming off a knee injury of his own, sustained during the team’s last preseason game against the Carolina Panthers. Leftwich is practicing all week, but how his knee holds up will go a long way towards determining who will line up under center to begin the game according to head coach Mike Tomlin.
“You’ve got to say Charlie’s in the pole position because he’s got a clean bill of health,” Tomlin said Tuesday.
Stay tuned for more updates and analysis all week here and on Behind the Steel Curtain.