In the final preseason game for the Pittsburgh Steelers, attention turned to player health and roster decisions as the team secured a 19-10 win over the Carolina Panthers in Charlotte. The most notable moment came when cameras showed first-round pick Derrick Harmon on the bench in street clothes, smiling after leaving earlier with an apparent knee injury. Coach Mike Tomlin later confirmed Harmon had suffered a knee sprain and said its severity would be evaluated.
Tomlin’s comments after the game suggested optimism about Harmon’s status: “You know, there’s always some difficult decisions and conversations, and really, I’ve learned not to speculate until you get out of this stadium,” he said. He added, “There are injuries and things that could happen that could change the course of those discussions.”
The preseason concluded with Pittsburgh posting a 2-1 record, an improvement from last year’s 0-3 mark. However, Tomlin emphasized that such results matter less than how players perform under evaluation for roster spots: “It is the last opportunity for people to state a case for themselves, and I don’t want to understate that,” he said before traveling to Charlotte. “There’s real opportunity there … Now this opportunity isn’t the end-all, be-all, but you do have an opportunity to put an exclamation point on your work.”
Quarterback Skylar Thompson stood out during preseason play due to Will Howard’s finger injury early in training camp. Thompson completed 41-of-56 passes (73.2 percent) for 498 yards with four touchdowns and one interception over several games. Against Carolina, he threw for 152 yards on 11-of-13 passing attempts.
Wide receiver Scotty Miller also made his case by catching nine passes for 167 yards throughout preseason play—three receptions for 82 yards against Carolina—and building chemistry with veteran quarterback Aaron Rodgers during practice sessions.
Defensive lineman Yayha Black contributed five tackles and two sacks in Thursday’s contest. Running backs Kaleb Johnson, Trey Sermon, and Lew Nichols all showed progress over three games while offensive line pass protection remained solid.
Not all aspects were positive; penalties totaled 13 for 104 yards against Carolina while Pittsburgh’s defense allowed conversions on nine of sixteen third downs.
With roster cuts looming ahead of Tuesday’s deadline—reducing from ninety players to fifty-three—Tomlin acknowledged potential changes ahead: “You never say never,” he said regarding adding outside players before opening day. “I just think that we all have gotten pretty comfortable with getting people on a moving train, if you will,” Tomlin responded when asked if late additions might disrupt preparations before the regular season opener scheduled twelve days after cut-downs conclude.
