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Mike Tomlin insists James Harrison isn't a forgotten man on Steelers defense

Joe Rutter
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Christopher Horner | Tribune-Review
Steelers linebacker James Harrison has played only four defensive snaps in two regular-season games. He didn't play Sunday in the win over Minnesota.

James Harrison will be a viable part of the Steelers defense this season.

It didn't happen Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings, and it might not happen this weekend in Chicago against the Bears.

But it will happen, coach Mike Tomlin said Tuesday. Just don't expect him to give prior notice.

“Part of it is gamesmanship, and part of it is it will define itself as we move forward,” Tomlin said Tuesday at his weekly press conference.

Harrison played just four snaps in the season opener against Cleveland and then none against the Vikings. The lack of activity for the 15-year veteran became talk-show and social-media fodder after Harrison remained on the bench against the Vikings when rookie outside linebacker T.J. Watt injured his groin in the first half.

Anthony Chickillo, who had two sacks and a fumble recovery while starting in place of left outside linebacker Bud Dupree in the season opener, replaced Watt on the right side for the remainder of the game. This despite Harrison being listed as the second-team outside linebacker on the right side, a designation that continued Tuesday in the weekly depth chart the team released.

Chickillo was in on four tackles and had a quarterback hit while playing 46 of 66 defensive snaps Sunday.

“Is he dropping or are other guys ascending?” Tomlin said when asked about Harrison's stock. “We wanted to leave the hot hands in there, Chickillo being that hot hand.”

Tomlin added that Harrison is not a forgotten man on the defense that is ranked third in the NFL in fewest yards allowed.

“We appreciate James. We know what James is capable of,” Tomlin said. “James will ready himself. There will be a time in the season where we will call on his services, and he'll deliver and deliver in a big way, much like he did at the latter part of 2016.”

Harrison moved into the starting lineup in the second half of last season and led the team with five sacks and became the franchise's all-time leader with 791⁄2. The Steelers re-signed him to a two-year contract before the start of free agency in March.

Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said on his weekly 93.7 FM radio segment that he spoke to Harrison on Monday when the players were at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex for film study.

“I asked what is going on, what happened?” Roethlisberger said. “He gave me this look like, ‘I have no clue.' We talked a little bit about it, but there are no real answers. He didn't have answers for me. I don't know if he has answers. I was kind of confused by it, but I'm not really sure what the reasoning is on it.”

Chickillo, a sixth-round draft pick in 2015, has gone from being cut before the start of his rookie season to being signed to the practice squad to being a contributor and occasional starter in 2015.

After averaging 21 defensive snaps last year, Chickillo is averaging 54 through the first two games. He remains tied for the team lead in sacks and tied for third in tackles.

“I knew he would come in and give everything he had,” inside linebacker Ryan Shazier said.

As a defensive tackle at Miami (Fla.), Chickillo once tipped the scales at 285 pounds. He cut the weight to 267 by the NFL Combine and has lowered it to about 250.

Asked about Chickillo's growth, Tomlin smiled.

“Actually, he's not grown. He's shrunk,” Tomlin said. “It started with shaping his body to look like a 3-4 outside linebacker.”

The change in Chickillo was evident in training camp, Shazier said.

“Every single day he was working his tail off, and he was getting sacks going against one of the best offensive lines,” he said. “Once the season came, I knew he could do it against everybody else.”

And Chickillo is doing it at Harrison's expense, a rotation that could keep the 39-year-old on the sidelines for the immediate future.

“We're going to continue to roll people in play and play guys that we see fit,” Tomlin said.

Joe Rutter is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at jrutter@tribweb.com or via Twitter @tribjoerutter.