The Steelers escaped their first preseason game without any major injuries, but they couldn’t escape the joint practices with the Bills totally unscathed.

It is being reported by the USA Today and several other outlets that long-time long-snapper Greg Warren suffered a torn meniscus in a joint practice with Buffalo on Wednesday at the Steelers training camp site in Latrobe, Pa., and could miss up to four weeks after having surgery to repair it.

“That’s going to be fixed here soon, so obviously he’s going to be out for a period of time. I don’t have a detailed picture of what that is. But maybe four weeks or so,” said Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin while addressing the media regarding Warren’s status.

• If Tomlin’s recovery assessment is accurate, that would mean Warren would miss at least Pittsburgh’s season opener against the Browns at Heinz Field on September 7.

And if it’s an even longer time away for Warren, it could be an unexpected and underrated critical blow for a Steelers team that has suffered through its fair share of key injuries in recent years.

A long-snapper’s performance isn’t normally included in a list of reasons why a team will succeed or fail. However, with the line so fine for victories and defeats in most NFL games these days, sometimes a win or a loss can come down to a single play–like a poorly executed snap on a potential game-winning field goal try.

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