Nick Herbig doesn’t have an official status for Sunday’s game, but Malik Harrison is ready to step up just in case. Signed as a free agent this offseason, Harrison is primarily an inside linebacker. He told Chris Adamski, however, that he has worked edge drills regularly and is ready to play there if needed.
“I do both (positions), so yeah, I’m comfortable with both,”, Harrison told Adamski about potentially playing outside linebacker if Nick Herbig can’t play on Sunday, via the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “Going back to high school, I’ve been playing a whole bunch of positions, so yeah, there’s nothing to it. It would be nothing new to me”.
Although Malik Harrison did not take part in outside linebacker drills during the Steelers’ open training camp practices, I have no reason to dispute what he told Adamski. Pittsburgh has put in plenty of work behind closed doors, and he has a background playing off the edge.
Indeed, when the Steelers first signed Harrison, some reporters were under the impression he would play outside. Of course, his primary role will actually be on special teams, but he isn’t high on any defensive depth chart.
Despite signing him to a two-year, $10 million contract, Harrison is behind Patrick Queen, Payton Wilson, and Cole Holcomb at inside linebacker. At outside linebacker, the Steelers have T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith, Nick Herbig, and rookie Jack Sawyer.
If Herbig, who has practiced on a limited basis the past two days, can’t go, Malik Harrison is one option. In all likelihood, however, the Steelers would elevate someone, like DeMarvin Leal, from their practice squad. Harrison will dress anyway due to special teams, so he could certainly rush off the edge.
According to Pro Football Focus, Malik Harrison logged 80 defensive snaps this preseason. Of those 80, they chart three as ROLB. Last season with the Ravens, he logged 371 defensive snaps, of which 162 were at OLB. For his career, he has logged 530 regular-season snaps at outside linebacker, via PFF.
That doesn’t mean the Steelers will actually use him there, and again, we have to make clear that we did not see him running any OLB drills during training camp. Presumably, he has done some work there since the Steelers left Latrobe. But I won’t be betting money seeing Harrison log many snaps there against the Jets.
Of course, if Herbig plays and is a full go, it is a moot point. If he doesn’t, the Steelers have a problem, because their only other backup is a rookie. Sawyer has potential, but should he be logging 30 snaps right now? While they can promote Leal, there is a reason he didn’t make the 53-man roster. And Harrison is on the 53 primarily because of special teams, but as Mike Tomlin says, the more you can do…
