Pittsburgh Steelers fan got a serious scare on Thursday night when first-round draft pick Derrick Harmon suffered a knee injury during the team’s preseason win against the Carolina Panthers.
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said the rookie defensive tackle sprained his knee midway through the second quarter when rushing the passer.
Harmon was carted off the field, “in tears with a towel over his head as he rode on the back of a cart to the locker room. However, Harmon walked back onto the Steelers sideline and sat on the bench in the second half,” according to a report by ESPN’s Brooke Pryor.
Tomlin said after the game that the 21st overall pick would be evaluated further. Per Pryor’s report, when asked if the team worried that Harmon may have suffered serious ligament damage, Tomlin replied “like I said, it is a knee sprain.”
Gerry Dulac and Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported on Thursday night that the 22-year-old will have an MRI on Friday, and while the injury isn’t season-ending, Harmon’s expected to miss “at least a couple weeks.”
Story continues below advertisement
Pittsburgh opens its regular season on the road against the New York Jets on Sept. 7.
More NFL: Steelers’ Aaron Rodgers Wishes He Played For Mike Tomlin Much Longer
Featured image via Travis Register/Imagn Images