FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Rookie first-round pick Derrick Harmon is active and expected to make his Pittsburgh Steelers debut Sunday against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium.
For the first time this season, Harmon was not included on the list of game-day inactives.
Harmon injured his knee in the preseason finale at Carolina, and he did not return to practice on a full-time basis until Friday.
With Harmon cleared to play, the Steelers deactivated defensive lineman Esezi Otomewo. Also on the inactive list are guard/tackle Andrus Peat and three players who previously sustained injuries: cornerback Joey Porter Jr., strong safety DeShon Elliott and outside linebacker Alex Highsmith. Those three already had been ruled out by coach Mike Tomlin.
Running back Trey Sermon was elevated from the practice squad Saturday when the Steelers placed guard Max Scharping on injured reserve with an ACL injury. Scharping will miss the rest of the season.
The Patriots will be without top cornerback Christian Gonzalez, who was scratched with a hamstring injury. Gonzalez has yet to make his season debut after being injured July 28.
On Saturday, the Patriots elevated former Steelers linebacker and inside linebacker Mark Robinson from the practice squad. Robinson was among the final players cut by the Steelers, who kept rookie seventh-rounder Carson Bruener instead.
In addition to Gonzalez, the Patriots added five players to the inactive list: defensive tackle Eric Gregory, guard Caedan Wallace, wide receiver Efton Chism, outside linebacker Elijah Ponder and third quarterback Tommy DeVito.
