Mike Bires of the Beaver County Times reported via Twitter on Monday that starting right outside linebacker James Harrison said after practice that he wasn\’t sure whether or not he would be able to play in the opener this coming Sunday at Denver after practice on Monday.
Bires reports that Harrison, who was just removed from the PUP list last week, said Monday that he got through his first practice OK, but added that he sat out the last team period portion of practice.
This is not the news that you wanted to hear, but it is not totally unexpected, as Harrison had the procedure done on his left knee in mid August. The big concern in his first week back of practice is whether or not he experiences swelling in the knee or not. If he does, Harrison might be shut down for a little while. Wednesday will be the key day for Harrison, who most likely will now be forced to sit out the opener.
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin will hold his regular pregame press conference on Tuesday, and we will have to see if he says anything about the status of Harrison moving forward.
