Garrett Hartley Injury: Updates on Steelers Kicker's Hamstring and Return

Pittsburgh Steelers kicker Garrett Hartley suffered a right hamstring injury during the Aug. 29 preseason clash with the Buffalo Bills, according to Around The NFL on Twitter. As a result, the Steelers placed him on injured reserve Monday.

They also traded a sixth-round pick in the 2016 NFL draft to the Jacksonville Jaguars for Josh Scobee.

Hartley injured his hamstring on a first-half kickoff, per the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Ed Bouchette, which only added to the Steelers' special teams troubles.

"It didn't look good," head coach Mike Tomlin said Aug. 29, per Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. "We have to MRI him, but it didn't look positive in terms of the opener."

Pittsburgh signed Hartley on Aug. 11 after kicker Shaun Suisham was diagnosed with a season-ending ACL tear.

Hartley made a name for himself during six seasons with the New Orleans Saints, converting 81.2 percent of his field goals and 99.4 percent of his extra points. After getting cut by the Saints in December 2013, he appeared in two games for the Cleveland Browns last season. During that abbreviated stint, Hartley drilled all three of his field goals.

According to Pro Football Focus, Hartley had been putting together an underwhelming preseason prior to getting hurt. Over the course of his first two exhibition appearances, he ranked 60th among all kickers overall in PFF's grades, while 80 percent of his kickoffs were returned with an opponents' average starting field position of the 23-yard line.