For Teryl Austin, if T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith are medically cleared to play this weekend, their roles won’t change. In a must-win game against the 7-6 Indianapolis Colts, two teams fighting for a playoff berth, Watt and Highsmith will be on their normal snap counts come Saturday provided they exit concussion protocol. Which is to say, they’ll both play a lot.
“That’s on them,” Austin told reporters via team-provided audio. “If they feel like they can do it, I’m not taking them off. If they feel like they can go and they’re playing hard for us, like they always do, then they’ll be out there.”
It echoes a similar comment Austin made weeks ago when asked about their high snap count, almost never coming off the field for a stretch of games. Watt and Highsmith come off the field when they feel they need to come off the field. Otherwise, they have freedom to keep on playing.
Both players exited Thursday’s game against the New England Patriots with a loss and a concussion. By Friday, both were placed into concussion protocol. And both will have to be medically cleared and exit that protocol in order to play this weekend. While there’s no guarantee and setbacks are always possible, the fact each practiced on a limited basis Tuesday is a promising sign. Austin indicated that it’s trending like they will suit up.
“We’ll see. Right now, they’re able to do some things in practice and so we’ll see leading up to Saturday. But I’m hopeful there.”
If not, the team will turn to Nick Herbig and Markus Golden, the rookie and the vet, to provide the team’s source of EDGE rushing. Austin also indicated to reporters he expects Golden to dress this weekend, even if Watt and Highsmith play, after being a surprise inactive in Week 14.
With Highsmith out and Watt playing with a possible concussion, the Steelers’ pass rush struggled to get to QB Bailey Zappe in last week’s loss. Things improved in the second half as Pittsburgh shut out the Pats over the final 30 minutes, but the Steelers still didn’t generate as much pressure as expected. They’ll need to do better against the Indianapolis Colts this weekend and QB Gardner Minshew. With the Colts king of the RPO game, the ball can come out quickly and make it difficult to rush, so whoever is out there this weekend has to maximize their rushes in the traditional drop-back passing game.
