Pittsburgh Steelers rookie defensive lineman Derrick Harmon suffered a setback during Thursday night’s preseason finale against the Carolina Panthers. He left the game with a knee injury, which initially caused considerable concern among analysts and reporters.
Harmon avoided a serious injury, but a sprained knee has sidelined him for the foreseeable future though there is optimism the first-round pick won’t miss many regular-season games.
“I just got hit knee in the play before,” Harmon told reporters about how the injury occurred via The Athletic’s Mike DeFabo. “Played through it. The next play, I felt it. Checked out, I didn’t know what it was at the time. That’s why I was seen in that mood, in that head space.”
While Harmon’s final play came on CB James Pierre’s interception, the injury initially happened after his leg was bent backwards on the previous running play.
Harmon was carted off the sidelines, emotional with a towel draped over his head as trainers took him to the locker room. The atmosphere shifted dramatically when he rejoined his teammates on the sideline. A cleaner bill of health and encouraging words from the likes of Cameron Heyward and T.J. Watt turned his night around.
“Once I got next to my teammates, they cheered me up, man,” Harmon said via DeFabo. “They told me get off my head in good spirits man, and telling, ‘You gonna be alright.'”
Heyward and Watt know what it’s like to get injured. Heyward has spent two long stints on injured reserve during his career. In 2016, he tore his pectoral muscle and missed the rest of the season, including the Steelers’ playoff run. In 2023, he tore his groin and missed the first half of the season. In 2022, Watt tore his pec and didn’t return until midway through the season.
After learning he had dodged a major injury in Carolina, Harmon’s relief was evident. His focus now turns to not just rejoining teammates on the bench but on the field.
“Get rehab going, and that’s what my main focus right now,” he said via DeFabo. “Just attack, rehab, and do what I gotta do to get back on the field and help the team.”
Harmon has 15 days to get ready for Week 1. It’s unlikely he returns that quickly, but he might be in uniform with Watt, Heyward, and the rest of the Steelers for their home opener the following Sunday.
