PITTSBURGH — Derrick Harmon feared the worst while being taken off by cart at Carolina on Thursday night. The news wasn't as bad as the Pittsburgh Steelers ' first-round draft pick stressed it would be.
"I thought it was serious, but it wasn't that serious," Harmon said after Saturday morning's practice at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex, adding that he's focused on rehabbing his sprained MCL.
The rookie defensive lineman was actually banged up on the play before James Pierre 's interception. Harmon was blocked to the ground by Carolina Panthers offensive tackle Brandon Walton before Pierre picked it off.
Pittsburgh Steelers defensive tackle Derrick Harmon after suffering a knee injury in a preseason game against the Carolina Panthers on Aug. 21, 2025. — Ed Thomson / Steelers Now
"I just got hit in the knee the play before, played through it the next play," Harmon said. "I felt it and just went to get it checked out. I didn't know what it was at the time. That's why I was so in that mood, in that headspace."
Harmon is expected to be out for about a month. He doesn't know the timeline of his return, but said he won't require surgery. While taking it week by week, he'll try to stay up to speed. While Harmon sat between veteran stalwarts Cam Heyward and T.J. Watt on the bench after returning to the sidelines, they told him not to get too much in his head.
"Injuries are part of this game, and at this level, it's part of what we do," Harmon said. "So just trying to keep my hopes up and keep me mentally prepared and mentally focused. … Once I got next to my teammates, they cheered me up, man, and told me to get out of my head. That's what they really told me, so that's why I was laughing like that."
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now : Steelers' Derrick Harmon Opens Up About Emotional Toll of Preseason Injury
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