Hindsight is 20/20 and for Pro Football Talk’s Michael Holley, Mike Tomlin should’ve sat Derrick Harmon for the Steelers’ preseason finale. Instead of focusing on the New York Jets in Week 1, Harmon is focused on getting healthy after spraining his knee in the first half of last night’s game against the Carolina Panthers. It’s arguably best-case scenario compared to initial fears of a season-ending injury, but Holley thinks Tomlin should’ve reduced all risk for the last exhibition outing.
“If you’re Mike Tomlin, you go back and you look at him and say, ‘Wow, I know we was trying to get this kid reps, but did we go too far? Maybe we shouldn’t have had him out there in that third preseason game,'” Holley told Mike Florio on PFT Friday morning.
Holley argues in favor of the Carolina Panthers’ approach. Head coach Dave Canales sat virtually every starter and key backup, a total of 33 players not dressing against Pittsburgh. That included top-two quarterbacks Bryce Young and Andy Dalton along with their first-round WR Tetairoa McMillan.
Pittsburgh went the other way, playing more starters and veterans than in the first two preseason outings. Only five players, QB Aaron Rodgers, WR DK Metcalf, OG Isaac Seumalo, DL Cam Heyward, EDGE T.J. Watt were healthy scratches.
“Most of those guys, they’re replacement players. To protect the real players from getting hurt. It sounds crass to say it that way, but that’s the reality,” Holley said of the preseason finale.
Criticism toward Tomlin is common after the fact. But it’s hard to justify here. Harmon is a rookie who needed as many reps as possible before the regular season began. There was no faction of fans, not even a vocal minority, who called for Harmon to sit before the game or as he suited up and took his first-half snaps. Being critical of the move is done entirely in hindsight, results-oriented instead of process-related.
No head coach has a crystal ball. There’s risk anytime a player steps inside a stadium. It’s weighed against the need to get reps and be at a player’s best for the season opener. The good news is Harmon had a good summer and avoided a significant injury. His will keep him out only a couple of weeks instead of months or the entire season.
