For the second time in his career, linebacker Kwon Alexander’s season was ended by a torn Achilles. Enjoying a solid season in the Pittsburgh Steelers’ revamped inside linebacker room, Alexander suffered the injury in Week 10, one week after LB Cole Holcomb was lost for the season to a severe knee injury.
And like Holcomb, Alexander is attacking his rehab. Dr. Sharif Tabbah shared two clips of Alexander recovering from his injury in conjunction with Alkeme Performance.
Alexander shared those clips to his personal Instagram page.
Tabbah is also training new Steelers safety DeShon Elliott this offseason while recently released safety Keanu Neal is also one of his clients.
Alexander’s injury came in freak fashion and away from the ball in the team’s win over the Green Bay Packers, stepping wrong while covering a receiver in the end zone and going down for the year. It marked the second time his season was ended by a torn Achilles, suffering the first on his right leg (the 2023 injury was his left Achilles) in December 2020. Earlier this month, we noted Alexander using an anti-gravity treadmill as part of his rehab.
Turning 30 in August with a concerning injury history, Alexander is currently a free agent after signing a one-year deal with the Steelers last summer, just ahead of the team putting on the pads at training camp. Alexander made an immediate impression with his run defense and energy, traits that carried over to the regular season. Serving as one leg of the team’s three-man rotation at inside linebacker alongside Holcomb and Elandon Roberts, Alexander racked up 41 tackles, one sack, one forced fumble, and one interception in nine games before suffering the injury. Based on those clips above, it’s clear he’s not thinking about ending his football career.
Alexander worked with Tabbah to recover from his initial tear. As profiled in September 2021, Tabbah called Alexander a poster boy for rehabs and expressed amazement over how quickly Alexander recovered. He took the field in Week 1 just nine months after his injury, though an elbow injury suffered that day caused him to miss the next month.
Kwon Alexander will look for similar results the second time around. Pittsburgh signed Patrick Queen to a record-setting deal at the start of free agency while Roberts and Holcomb return, though the latter has no official timetable for when he’ll take the field. Holcomb was recently filmed rehabbing at trainer Pete Bommarito’s facility.
Pittsburgh’s also shown interest in mid-round inside linebacker candidates in this year’s draft, sending ILBs Coach Aaron Curry to check out Ohio State’s Tommy Eichenberg and Steele Chambers and to Kentucky for Trevin Wallace.
But if the Steelers don’t feel great about their depth going into camp, and if Alexander has another quick recovery, the team could touch base with him in August.
