The Friday injury report for the Pittsburgh Steelers will be out shortly, but linebacker James Harrison let it be known today that he will make his season debut Sunday at Heinz Field against the Philadelphia Eagles.
ESPN reporter Josina Anderson tweeted on Friday that Harrison told the media, “Yeah definitely, I\’ll be ready for Sunday.”
Harrison practiced fully all week and it was the first time that the linebacker was able to work fully in back-to-back practices this season. Harrison had a minor procedure done on his left knee in the middle of August, but swelling and irritation has forced him to miss the first three games of the season.
Even though Harrison is set to play Sunday, defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau cautioned Thursday that his star linebacker might not be able to play every snap. “I’m looking forward to having our defense back together,” LeBeau said when talking about the return of Harrison and safety Troy Polamalu. “They might not be able to play the whole game but we’ll get a lot of quality snaps from them. They both looked real well in the practices the last few days, and I’m anxious to see them play.”
Regardless of the playing time that Harrison winds up getting, the hope is that he will be able to provide pressure on passing downs that he is in the game as the Steelers defense has only recorded 5 sacks and very little serious pressure in their first 3 games of the season.
