NFL insider Ian Rapoport gave Pittsburgh Steelers fans hope injured defensive lineman Derrick Harmon wouldn’t need to go on injured reserve. Harmon left Thursday’s contest against the Cleveland Browns, and cameras caught the second-year defender wearing a boot on his left foot.
But that won’t be the case. Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy opened his weekly press conference Monday telling reporters Harmon will go on IR.
“We’re going to put him down on IR,” said McCarthy. “He’ll be out for a number of weeks.”
With every IR stint, players are required to miss four games. The Steelers will have two home games, a road trip to Florida and a neutral site contest in Paris, France over the next four weeks. Then, the Steelers will have their bye.
That means the earliest Harmon will be able to return is Week 10 against the Cincinnati Bengals on November 15.
In the first four games this season, Harmon posted 12 combined tackles, including one tackle for loss. He also had two quarterback hits, 1.5 sacks and one forced fumble. The forced fumble came late in the fourth quarter versus the Bengals in Week 3 to seal a 30-27 victory.
Last season, Harmon had 27 combined tackles, one for loss, five quarterback hits, three sacks and one pass defense in 12 games.
Steelers to Place Derrick Harmon on Injured Reserve
Rapoport started off Sunday morning with a somewhat encouraging update on Harmon. The NFL insider posted on X that while IR “would be a consideration for Harmon” he also wasn’t definitely going on injured reserve. Rapoport concluded his social media post by calling the ailment “not a long-term injury.”
About four hours later, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac reported Harmon would miss “several games” but also wrote that he wasn’t sure if the defensive lineman would go on injured reserve.
At the end of the day, Dulac’s report was essentially the same as Rapoport but just written from a more pessimistic point of view.
A day later, McCarthy left no doubt — Harmon will go on IR, which will require a four-game absence.
How Mike McCarthy Replaces Harmon
Losing Harmon could be very significant for the Steelers defense, especially against the run.
Last year, Pittsburgh’s defense yielded 91.2 rushing yards per game when Harmon played. In the five games where he didn’t, the Steelers yielded 165.6 rushing yards per contest.
Granted, the Steelers faced running quarterbacks such as Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson and Justin Fields without Harmon in 2025. Those signal-callers may have skewed those rushing statistics.
But without Harmon in the first Ravens matchup, the Steelers yielded 217 rushing yards last season. In the 2025 rematch with Harmon back in the lineup, Pittsburgh allowed 137 yards on the ground versus Baltimore.
This season, the Steelers have allowed 112.8 rushing yards per game. The Browns were right at that average with 112 yards on the ground while the Steelers mostly played without Harmon on Thursday.
With Harmon out, the Steelers could make one of their rookie defensive linemen active over the next few weeks. Sixth-round pick Gabe Rubio and undrafted rookie Kevin Jobity Jr. each made the team’s roster out of the preseason but are still waiting to make their regular season debut.
Cameron Heyward will continue to anchor the Steelers defensive line over the next few weeks. Without Harmon, Keeanu Benton, Sebastian Joseph-Day and Yayha Black could see additional defensive snaps.
The Steelers will host the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, October 11.
Steelers’ Mike McCarthy Delivers Bad News on Injured Derrick Harmon