Steelers Get Great Update on Harmon, Insert Yahya Black

Yahya Black. Photo Credit.

The only news that mattered to me following the Steelers’ Thursday night preseason win in North Carolina was the knee injury to Derrick Harmon. I was at work when it happened, and I didn’t see the update of him sitting on the bench with a smile on his face until much later in the evening. For the entirety of my shift on Thursday night, all I knew was that our first round pick was carted off the field with a knee injury, and I was sick to my damn stomach. 

I am sick no longer, as Gerry Dulac has stayed on top of the updates: an MRI has confirmed an MCL sprain in Harmon’s knee, and the Steelers have “no intention” of putting him on IR. The team’s optimistic that he will only miss one game, but even if it’s a few games, that’s just miles and miles better than what it looked like when he left the field on Thursday. After losing Fautanu for the year last year, I thought we were staring down the barrel of little-to-no reps for our first-round pick for a second consecutive year, but it seems as though we’ve dodged a bullet.

Harmon has put together an awesome summer, and has, so far, lived up to the hype, but he’s not the only young defensive lineman that we should be excited about. Yahya Black has made plays all summer long; and I mean real plays: batted balls at the line of scrimmage, countless run stuffs, and, at least in Thursday night’s game, a couple sacks. It’s nice rewatching the game now, knowing that Harmon is OK, and seeing how the pass rush really came alive in his absence after back-to-back anemic games. Jack Sawyer also got in there on a stunt, late in the first quarter, and absolutely drilled Jack Plummer (Panther’s QB). Plummer got the ball out so it wasn’t a sack, but he felt that hit for sure. That was awesome, but Yahya stole the show with 2 sacks and a 90.4 pass rush grade. Harmon’s knee injury might be just the opening Yahya needed to continue that upward trajectory he’s on with the fan base, and surely the coaches too. He was named the Steelers Digest Player of the Week, and if there was anyone out there that was concerned he might not make the 53-man roster (there shouldn’t be), have no fear. He’ll be in tow against the Jets. 

That guy doesn’t look like a 5th-round pick. He’s the perfect Steeler. 

Follow me on twitter/x: @jay_newm 

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