Derrick Harmon

He’ll be eligible to return in Week 9. Harmon had shown some increased pass rush ability in his four games so far this season and this is a tough loss for the Steelers defense in the short-term.

Rapoport noted that IR is an option, but the injury is not considered long-term. Harmon suffered the foot injury on Thursday against the Browns. He was carted to the locker room and was later spotted wearing a boot on the sidelines. The second-year tackle had 1.5 sacks in three games before leaving Week 4 early. His potential breakout campaign will now be put on hold for upwards of a month.

That’s two weeks in a row on the sideline for Harmon, who the Steelers badly missed on Sunday as the Bills ran all over them. Derrick Henry deserves a small rankings bump based on this news.

The No. 21 overall pick will make his NFL debut today after missing the first two weeks of the season with a knee issue. Running back Kaleb Johnson is active despite making a catastrophic blunder on a kickoff last week that resulted in a Seahawks touchdown. He won’t return kicks but could still be in the backfield mix for a few snaps. Inactive for the Steelers are CB Joey Porter Jr., S DeShon Elliott, OLB Alex Highsmith, G Andrus Peat, and DT Esezi Otomewo.

He got in a full session on Friday after two limited sessions on Wednesday and Thursday and looks to be on the optimistic side of questionable to make his NFL debut in Week 3. Harmon suffered an MCL sprain in Pittsburgh’s preseason finale and, should he be active on Sunday, will wind up missing about a month as forecasted at the time.

Harmon could still suit up on Sunday, even if he remains limited tomorrow, but we would expect him to be on a snap count if that is the case. The Steelers need their rookie defensive tackle back badly. Porter remains sidelined by his hamstring injury and does not appear to be close to returning.

Harmon’s return to practice could not have come at a better time. Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin already said CB Joey Porter Jr. (hamstring) is “questionable at best” to play in Week 3 against the Patriots. He was unable to practice, as was S DeShon Elliott (knee). Steelers LB Alex Highsmith (ankle) is likely due for an extended absence, though he was able to avoid being placed on injured reserve.

Harmon didn’t practice all week and doesn’t look close to playing yet. The Steelers opted not to place him on injured reserve, but he may only narrowly beat the four-week window at this point. Harmon has to be considered a question mark for Week 3.

As expected. Though Harmon didn’t head to injured reserve, he doesn’t look close to playing at the moment after missing all three practices this week. Harmon’s Week 2 status is likely also in some question at this point. Yahya Black, Isaiahh Loudermilk, and Daniel Ekuale will take on bigger roles in Week 1 with the rookie defensive tackle out.

Pittsburgh’s first-round pick this year suffered a knee injury during the team’s final preseason game. He avoided injured reserve to start the season but was initially expected to miss about a month. Later reports have been more optimistic on his timeline, though he is still a long shot to suit up for Pittsburgh’s opener versus the Jets. He should be ruled out for Week 1 later this week.

Dulac reported earlier that the Steelers believe Harmon could be out 4-6 weeks. Now, Dulac is reporting that the rookie defensive tackle will likely avoid IR and that the team thinks “it’s possible he will miss only one game.” Harmon was diagnosed with an MCL sprain after exiting the Steelers’ preseason finale against the Panthers on Thursday. When asked about Harmon’s injury, head coach Mike Tomlin classified him as “week-to-week” and declined to comment on whether or not the rookie would start the year on injured reserve.

Harmon was diagnosed with an MCL sprain. No word yet on the specific severity. Being placed on injured reserve would require him to miss at least four games, and the Steelers notably have a Week 5 bye. The good news is that the Steelers will get their first-round rookie back this year. The bad news is that they face four capable rushing offenses to begin the year (Jets, Seahawks, Patriots and Vikings).

Harmon was expected to start from Day 1 on the Steelers’ defensive line after the organization drafted him 21st overall this year. Losing him for an extended period of time would be a big blow to the Steelers’ defense. Through three preseason games, Harmon totaled two tackles, three quarterback pressures and one sack.

Though technically listed as a defensive tackle, Harmon will ultimately play the 3-4 defensive end role in the Steelers’ defensive front. The 6'5/313 defender is a versatile three-down player who registered 22 tackles, six TFLs, 49 quarterback pressures and four sacks in regular season play last year. He profiles as a long-time Pittsburgh Steeler.

Long connected to the Steelers, Harmon (6’5/310) spent his first three seasons at Michigan State as a run-stopping three tech before transferring west to Oregon. He found another gear with the Ducks, earning Second-Team AP All-American accolades to go along with 55 pressures, leading all FBS interior defensive linemen. Harmon’s 17.6 percent pass rush win rate ranked third nationally, while his 9.1 PRP charted second overall. He’s also a credible run defender, having recorded 25 stops and an 80th percentile run defense grade, though his 26.7 percent missed tackle rate needs drastic improvement. He ran a blazing 4.95 40-yard dash (88th percentile) and is blessed with 34 3/8th-inch arms. Harmond opted to not perform any other Combine tests. A one-man pressure machine, he uses an arm-over technique to devastating effect which makes him difficult to square up for opposing linemen. Harmon is a first-rate disruptor who can have a long career if he can refine his tackling success rate.