“Out About a Month”: Pittsburgh Steelers Rookie Avoids Major Injury

The Pittsburgh Steelers wrapped up the preseason on Thursday with a road matchup against the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium. They won 19-10 and will officially transition into the final stage of training camp. The Steelers must reduce their roster from 90 players to finalize their 53-man roster by Tuesday, and every NFL team can place two players on injured reserve during roster cuts with a designation to return.

One injury to monitor is their first-round pick.

Pittsburgh Steelers’ DT was carted off the field

Derrick Harmon suffered an apparent knee injury during the second quarter after he was shoved to the ground by an opposing offensive lineman, and the first-round pick fell awkwardly on his right side. As a result, he was carted off the field and did not return for the remainder of the game. Harmon underwent tests to determine the severity of the injury.

Fans can exhale a sigh of relief.

Pittsburgh Steelers’ rookie avoids major injury

According to Ian Rapoport, Derrick Harmon avoided a season-ending injury but will miss some time. As Rapoport points out, the promising first-round pick sustained an MCL sprain and is expected to be sidelined for about a month. Harmon could return as early as Week 3 vs. the Patriots, though the Steelers could place him on injured reserve next Tuesday, which would sideline him for the first four games.

#Steelers first-round DT Derrick Harmon, who was ruled out with a knee injury last night, was diagnosed with an MCL sprain, sources say. He’s expected to be out about a month, which makes him a candidate to begin the year on IR.

But could have been worse. pic.twitter.com/JQ48XGeewq

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 22, 2025

Fans react to the news

Could have been way worse, thank god

— Sam (@Sam_____219) August 22, 2025

Prayers for Derrick 🙏🙏🙏

— 𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔇𝔢𝔱𝔯𝔬𝔦𝔱 𝔗𝔦𝔪𝔢𝔰 📰 (@the_det_times) August 22, 2025

Still a tough loss by the Steelers

— Homer (@Homermetax) August 22, 2025

Phew… could’ve been a lot worse.

— Jakob Berger (@jj_bergss) August 22, 2025

Thankfully it’s only a sprain. Injuries suck

— NFL Draft Content – Scouting (@draftlives_here) August 22, 2025

as in out for a month starting now or from when the season starts?

— FraziersBurgh✝️ (@MinkahBurgh39) August 22, 2025

That wind in Pittsburgh is the entire Steelers fanbase breathing a sigh of relief.

— Trippy Dead (@TrippyDead2) August 22, 2025

Math on this saying he could be back by week 3? That’s great news.

— JM ⚫🟡 (@JoeyForest_) August 22, 2025

Could have been a lot better, why the hell was he playing in the 3rd preseason game?

— slide2play (@slide2play401) August 22, 2025

For More Great Gridiron Heroics Content:

Follow me on X @JacksonLoschko, and follow us @GridironHeroics for more great content. If you have any questions, you can message me on LinkedIn. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest in NFL and College Football, click here.

Thank you for reading my articles. It is greatly appreciated.