Though officially listed as questionable, those who cover the Pittsburgh Steelers expect DL Derrick Harmon to provide reinforcements to the defensive line Sunday against the New England Patriots.
ESPN’s Brooke Pryor and the PPG’s Brian Batko were among those on Twitter sharing that belief after Harmon fully practiced Friday.
Harmon is recovering from a sprained MCL suffered one month ago in the Steelers’ preseason finale. Avoiding injured reserve was a positive sign and expectations were that the first-round pick could return before the team’s Week 5 bye. He returned to practice Wednesday, working on a limited basis during the first two days of the week. Though Harmon is still wearing a brace, he elevated to full status for Friday.
Pittsburgh could use all the defensive line help it can get. The Steelers’ run defense has allowed 299 total yards through two games, a trend that’s carried over from 2024. The front seven is beat up with EDGE Alex Highsmith and DL Isaiahh Loudermilk out this week due to ankle injuries. Highsmith could be out through the bye week while Loudermilk was placed on injured reserve earlier this week. In the secondary, SS DeShon Elliott will miss his second-straight game due to a knee sprain.
As DC Teryl Austin cautioned earlier this week, Harmon suiting up doesn’t mean he’ll play substantial snaps against the Patriots if he dresses Sunday.
“We’ll be pretty judicious with his snaps and try to work him back,” Austin told reporters Thursday. “More importantly, he’s probably going to lack some football conditioning, football shape. So, you don’t want to throw a guy in there that’s really not quite ready in those regards.”
There’s not even a guarantee Harmon will start. He could rotate in behind Cam Heyward, Keeanu Benton, and fellow rookie Yahya Black. Logging 15-20 snaps is a reasonable expectation for Harmon. Every bit will help against a Patriots offense that wants to run the ball with a physical offensive line and three-headed attack at running back in Rhamondre Stevenson, Antonio Gibson, and TreVeyon Henderson.
Official word on Harmon will come Sunday morning when the Steelers release their list of inactive players 90 minutes before the 1 PM/EST kickoff.
