Derrick Harmon isn’t expected to make his NFL debut on September 7th when the Pittsburgh Steelers take on the New York Jets. But it’s possible he’s suited up for the home opener a week later. Providing continuing updates on Harmon’s status after spraining his MCL in Thursday’s preseason finale, the PPG’s Gerry Dulac doubled down on a Friday report that Harmon will not be placed on injured reserve. In fact, the team believes he may only miss one game.
“Steelers have no intention of putting Harmon on IR and think it’s possible he will miss only one game,” Dulac wrote on Twitter/X Saturday morning.
Should Harmon miss just one game, his target date could be Week Two against the Seattle Seahawks. That serves as the Steelers’ home opener. In Week Three, Pittsburgh visits the New England Patriots before heading to Dublin, Ireland for an international Week Four tilt against the Minnesota Vikings.
Despite national reporters like Ian Rapoport and local beat writers like Brooke Pryor floating Harmon as an injured reserve candidate, it appears Pittsburgh will take Harmon’s health on a game-by-game basis. At a minimum, placing him on injured reserve would knock Harmon out for the first four weeks of the season. With the Steelers’ Week Five bye, the earliest Harmon could play would be Week Six against the Cleveland Browns.
But that’s not the course the team seems likely to take. Instead, Harmon could simply be one of the team’s inactives in Week One. Staying off injured reserve would allow him to return to practice sooner and, of course, see the field earlier.
Whether it’s one game or three, Pittsburgh will likely use a multi-man committee to replace Harmon’s snaps. Fellow rookie Yahya Black’s impressive summer will lend itself to more playing time, while veterans Daniel Ekuale and Isaiahh Loudermilk will see their roles expand. Pittsburgh could also increase the volume of reps, for starters, Keeanu Benton and Cam Heyward, though the team has been careful about managing Heyward’s snaps in his mid-30s.
