Steelers’ Derrick Harmon Discusses Initial Knee Injury Fear

Pittsburgh Steelers first-round pick Derrick Harmon suffered a knee injury during the team’s preseason win against the Carolina Panthers on Thursday night.

It was reported on Friday that the defensive tackle suffered a sprained MCL in the preseason finale and is expected to miss “about a month.”

Harmon discussed the injury on Saturday and admitted that he initially thought the injury was much worse.

“Most definitely,” the 21st overall draft pick said when asked if he was relieved from the diagnosis, according to ESPN’s Brooke Pryor. “I thought it was serious, but it wasn’t as serious. But still something (to) get rehab on and that’s what my main focus is right now, is just to attack rehab and do what I’ve got to get back on the field and help the team.”

With the latest timeline, it’d be a surprise to see Harmon suit up for the Steelers’ Week 1 contest against the New York Jets. Pittsburgh begins its regular season on the road at MetLife Stadium on Sept. 7.

The former Michigan State and Oregon product labeled himself “week-to-week” and said that he won’t need surgery, per Pryor’s report. The insider wrote that “depending on the degree of severity, MCL sprains can take from several weeks to a month to heal,” adding “with the season opener still two weeks away, Harmon could avoid landing on short-term injured reserve.”

Harmon was carted off the field following the injury in the second quarter on Thursday “with a towel over his head and a forlorn look on his face.” He returned to the sideline in the fourth quarter and was laughing alongside teammates Cam Heyward and T.J. Watt on the bench.

“I didn’t know what it was at the time, that’s why I was so in that mood, in that head space,” the 22-year-old said, according to Pryor. “I was still in that head space, but once I got next to my teammates, they cheered me up man. They told me get out of my head and that’s what they really telling me. So that’s why I was laughing like that.”

More NFL: Steelers Receive More Clarity On Derrick Harmon Injury