Steelers Now
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin revealed that three players left Sunday’s 34-32 win over the New York Jets with injuries — strong safety DeShon Elliott (knee), linebacker Malik Harrison (knee) and cornerback Joey Porter Jr. (hamstring tightness).
“We absorbed some attrition in game like always,” Tomlin said after the game. “DeShon Elliott has a knee injury that’s being evaluated. Malik Harrison also has a knee injury that’s being evaluated. Joey Porter Jr.’s hamstring got tight. We shut him down so it didn’t get any worse than it was. There was some other bumps and bruises associated with play. I think Cam [Heyward] got poked in the eye, but he was fine and able to finish.”
Elliott was injured when a played rolled into the side of his left leg on a Breece Hall run in the second quarter of the game.
He got to his feet, but threw his helmet off in anger as the training staff came over to him. Elliott walked under his own power to the blue medical tent on the Steelers sideline. He emerged from the tent with a noticeable limp and without his helmet.
The Steelers replaced Elliott with a combination of moving Jalen Ramsey from cornerback to safety and bringing in backup Chuck Clark. Special teamer Miles Killebrew was the only other safety.
Porter entered the blue medical tent during the third quarter of the team’s clash against the Jets on Sunday afternoon.
He exited the tent and was jogging on the sidelines, but didn’t have his helmet. He then re-entered the tent, came out and sat on the bench.
Inside linebacker Malik Harrison suffered a knee injury as his team tried to keep New York Jets quarterback Justin Fields out of the end zone on a fourth-quarter fourth-and-goal on Sunday.
Harrison was soon ruled out for the remainder of the regular-season opener as the Steelers trailed the hosts by a point. Isaiahh Loudermilk would’ve been the Steelers’ emergency outside linebacker if the team suffered another injury at the position.
Fields’ bootleg fooled the Steelers’ entire defense, which was missing veteran defensive lineman Cam Heyward, who’d walked to the sideline with an injury to his face after the prior play. Heyward returned to the field for an unsuccessful Jets 2-point try.
Alan Saunders and Brenden Howe provided reporting for East Rutherford N.J.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Steelers Lose Three to Injury in Win over Jets
