Reinforcements might take another week to arrive in Pittsburgh. With a front seven beat up along the defensive line, outside linebacker, and inside linebacker, the Steelers are poised to keep playing shorthanded against the New England Patriots. Beat writer Mark Kaboly doesn’t think first-round rookie DL Derrick Harmon will make it back for their Week 3 game.
“I don’t think so,” Kaboly said on 93.7 The Fan when asked if Harmon will return.
Harmon’s missed the first two weeks of the regular season after spraining his MCL in the Steelers’ preseason finale. Pittsburgh’s run defense has faltered without him, allowing 299 total rushing yards through two weeks. Pittsburgh bottled up Seattle’s running game in the first half, but the floodgates opened in the final 30 minutes as RB Kenneth Walker III ran wild, finishing the day with more than 8 yards per carry.
As we noted in our stats of the weird, the 299 rushing yards marks the fourth time Pittsburgh’s defense has allowed that many in the Mike Tomlin era. In the Chuck Noll and Bill Cowher eras combined, it occurred only three times.
Harmon’s yet to practice since his injury, backing Kaboly saying he’s unlikely to debut this weekend. Still, Tomlin will provide an update during his Tuesday press conference while the Steelers will release their first injury report Wednesday. Unless Harmon can return to full participation immediately, it’ll be hard for him to get cleared by Sunday. Rookies don’t have the trust veterans do and require more reps.
Even if Harmon plays, it’s difficult to imagine his snap count being high. Missing a month of action impacts conditioning and the team can’t put too much on his plate out of the gate. Most likely, Harmon’s NFL debut won’t come in the United States. A Week 4 return for the Dublin, Ireland, game against the Minnesota Vikings appears the most probable outcome.
Until he returns, Pittsburgh will reach down its depth chart to replace him. Fill-in Isaiahh Loudermilk is unlikely to play against the Patriots after suffering a high-ankle sprain, leading rookie Yahya Black to pick up 40 snaps Sunday. Daniel Ekuale and Logan Lee also received reps at left defensive end. Esezi Otomewo could dress this Sunday after spending the first two games inactive.
