The Pittsburgh Steelers are going to go as far as their defensive front takes them this year, especially after shipping Joey Porter Jr. to the Dallas Cowboys. But that burden may have just gotten a whole lot heavier on Thursday night after second-year defensive lineman Derrick Harmon had to be carted off against the Cleveland Browns with a foot injury.
Derrick Harmon carted off #Steelers pic.twitter.com/nAP2dyCgUz
— Steelers Depot 7⃣ (@Steelersdepot) October 2, 2026
It’s unclear exactly how Harmon got hurt, or the exact nature of his injury. There wasn’t a play during which he was clearly hampered, and all the Steelers have announced so far is that he’s questionable to return with a foot injury. But getting carted to the locker room is never a good thing, to state the obvious, and foot issues are nothing to sneeze at for a player of Harmon’s size.
It’s too early to speculate as to how long Pittsburgh might be without one of its most promising young players. If Harmon is sidelined for any extended period, though, the Steelers might need to get aggressive as they look to maximize their final season with Aaron Rodgers under center.
Emergency Steelers-Commanders trade for Daron Payne after Mason Graham’s knee injury
Payne isn’t a totally like-for-like replacement, as he’s currently being used as a true nose tackle in Dan Quinn’s 3-4 with the Commanders. But he has experience playing in wider alignments, and he has the build and skill set to be just fine filling in for Harmon as a 3-4 end. (Payne is listed at 6-foot-3, 320 pounds, while Harmon is 6-foot-4 and 313.)
He’s in his age-29 season, so it’s safe to say he’s not quite the player he once was in Washington. But he’s a veteran with tons of experience and a double-digit sack season under his belt. Plus, the reality is that Pittsburgh has limited options to choose from if it has to backfill Harmon’s spot on the depth chart in early October, and there’s a lot riding on finding a way to contend this season.
Why the Steelers would trade for Daron Payne
Should Pittsburgh be all-in on the 2026 season? Probably not, no. But that ship has long since sailed; if the Steelers were going to start pivoting toward the future, they wouldn’t have lured Rodgers back for one more go-round.
Plus, given the way Rodgers and this offense looked last week in a win against the Cincinnati Bengals, and with how much talent they still have in the front seven even without Harmon, isn’t it worth a shot to see if you can make a run in a wide-open AFC? Harmon finally looked to be making good on his first-round promise; removing him from the lineup would be a huge blow, and Payne would go a long way toward keeping Pittsubrgh’s defense salty until he returned.
Why the Commanders would make this trade
For Washington, meanwhile, this is a pretty simple calculation. Jayden Daniels avoided the worst with his elbow injury and should be back soon, but this team isn’t going anywhere meaningful this season. Payne is set to hit free agency next offseason, and a 30-year-old lineman probably isn’t the highest priority for this organization right now.
Amassing draft capital and getting younger certainly is, though, and if they have the chance to flip Payne for a Day 2 pick, they should absolutely do so.
Add us as a preferred source on Google
