Steelers Now
The Pittsburgh Steelers have placed linebacker Malik Harrison on the injured reserve list, the team announced on Wednesday.
Harrison suffered an injury during the team’s Week 1 game against the New York Jets and was quickly ruled out. Head coach Mike Tomlin did not announce a further prognosis for Harrison on Tuesday, other than ruling him out for the team’s Week 2 home opener against the Seattle Seahawks this Sunday.
Now that Harrison has been placed on injured reserve, he must miss at least four games, and will not be eligible to be re-instated until Week 7, as the Steelers have a Week 5 bye.
Harrison played on four snaps of defense and 16 snaps of special teams for the Steelers in the opener against the Jets. He recorded two tackles, one on the opening kickoff of the season.
He was injured on a goal line play in the fourth quarter, when defensive lineman Logan Lee was blocked into him, pinning Harrison’s leg under his body.
Harrison served as the third Steelers linebacker to see action in the game, though much of his role was in goal line or short yardage looks. Starters Patrick Queen and Payton Wilson played nearly every defensive snap.
Cole Holcomb, who did not appear at all in the opener except for eight snaps on special teams, will likely absorb Harrison’s role while he is injured.
The Steelers will now have only four healthy off-ball linebackers on the active roster. Jon Rhattigan is a candidate to be elevated from the practice squad. A former member of the Seattle Seahawks and Carolina Panthers, Rhattigan is an experienced special teamer
Harrison had also been serving as the team’s fourth outside linebacker, though it appears that Nick Herbig should be on track to return from his hamstring injury to play in Week 2.
The Steelers signed Harrison to a two-year, $10 million contract this offseason, poaching yet another linebacker from the Baltimore Ravens. The 27-year-old was a third-round pick of the Ravens out of Ohio State in 2020 and had spent all five of his previous NFL seasons in Baltimore.
In addition to placing Harrison on the injured reserve list on Wednesday, the Steelers also added quarterback Skylar Thompson to the IR, promoted cornerback James Pierre to the 53-man roster, officially signed safety Jabrill Peppers and re-signed quarterback Logan Woodside to the practice squad.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: New Steelers Linebacker Lands on IR after Week 1 Injury
