Starting defensive backs DeShon Elliott and Joey Porter Jr. continue to miss practice, dampening any hope either will be able to play for the Pittsburgh Steelers in Sunday’s game at the New England Patriots.

Elliott, a safety, and Porter, a cornerback, left the Sept. 7 season opener because of injury: Elliott to his knee and Porter a hamstring. Neither has practiced since. Coach Mike Tomlin on Tuesday did not rule out that either could be available for the game in New England but indicated it was unlikely. That neither has practiced through two days this week underscores that point.

Harmon again on field

Rookie Derrick Harmon took part in practice for the second day in a row, his first action since suffering a knee injury during the preseason finale. He has not yet been ruled out for Sunday but appears trending toward a more likely NFL debut the following weekend in Dublin, Ireland, against the Minnesota Vikings.

“We’ll see where he ends up at the end of the week,” defensive coordinator Teryl Austin said while speaking before practice when asked if Harmon might play against the Patriots. “But I think if it does come to it, we’ll be pretty judicious with his snaps and try to work him back. More importantly, he’s probably going to lack some football conditioning, football shape. So you don’t want to throw a guy in there that’s really not quite ready in those regards. I like the progress he’s making, and we’ll just kind of see where we end up at the end of the week.”

The only other starter on the league-mandated practice status report because of injury — inside linebacker Patrick Queen — again practiced fully. He has been cleared to play Sunday despite suffering an oblique ailment during this past week’s game against the Seattle Seahawks.

Tomlin already has ruled out outside linebacker Alex Highsmith (high ankle sprain).

Scharping out for season

Reserve offensive lineman Max Scharping has a torn ACL and is out for the season, according to a report from NFL Network. Scharping suffered a knee injury during Wednesday’s practice and did not take the field Thursday.

A seven-year NFL veteran of 81 games and 33 starts, Scharping joined the Steelers early last season and spent the final 14 weeks as a backup. He appeared in three games (including playoffs) and was re-signed in April. The 29-year-old was the second backup option at guard and center. He was a gameday inactive for both games this season.

Expect the Steelers to make a roster move in placing Scharping on the injured reserve list by Saturday.

Copyright ©2025— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)