The Pittsburgh Steelers will be down at least one former Alabama defensive back in their secondary when they play the Tennessee Titans on Thursday night, and it might be two.

Pittsburgh free safety Minkah Fitzpatrick will miss the Thursday night game after sustaining a hamstring injury during the Steelers’ 20-10 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday.

A former Crimson Tide teammate of Fitzpatrick’s, Levi Wallace has been Pittsburgh’s starting left cornerback this season. But Wallace missed Sunday’s game because of a foot injury, and after being a limited participant in practice this week, his status for Thursday night’s game is listed as questionable on the Steelers’ injury report.

But Wallace might not have been on the field for Pittsburgh even if healthy, at least in a starting role.

The first selection in the second round of the NFL Draft on April 28, Joey Porter Jr. made the first start of his career on Sunday in Wallace’s place. When asked if the rookie had done enough to retain the starting position, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said, “He has.”

Pittsburgh defensive coordinator Teryl Austin elaborated.

“I’ve said he’s growing, he’s getting better, and when it’s time, you’ll know it,” Austin said. “I think it was his time. I think each week we’ve played him, he’s played a larger role. He’s played better. He’s doing the things that we wanted him to do, and we feel comfortable now that he’s able to handle everything. That’s why he’s the guy.”

Wallace entered the NFL from Alabama’s 2017 CFP national-championship team as an undrafted rookie and began his career on the Buffalo Bills’ practice squad. But he has started 66 regular-season and five playoff games.

In 2023, Wallace has allowed four touchdown passes, more than in any full season of his career, and opposing quarterbacks have a 98.2 passing-efficiency rating when throwing to receivers covered by Wallace. His worst full season showing has been 85.5.

Fitzpatrick is a three-time first-team All-Pro. But even with the former Alabama All-American in the lineup, the Steelers have allowed more yards per game than all but two defenses in the NFL in 2023, although Pittsburgh ranks 18th among the league’s 32 teams in points allowed.

“Obviously, the loss of Minkah is a significant one,” Tomlin said. “It is a multi-man job, not a one-man job. Thankfully, we have some veterans back there, guys like (Miles) Killebrew and (Damontae) Kazee and Keanu Neal, who are veteran NFL players, and that lessens the impact, hopefully. But, obviously, it’s not a one-man job when you’re talking about replacing Minkah, whether you’re talking about his play-making ability or his hub-of-communication ability.”

The Steelers and Titans kick off at 7:15 p.m. CDT Thursday at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh. Prime Video will televise the game.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.