The Pittsburgh Steelers saw a significant contributor suffer an injury during practice on Tuesday. Mike Tomlin told reporters that OLB Alex Highsmith suffered a groin injury. Highsmith was one of four players Tomlin mentioned in his injury update, which also had LB Tyler Murray with a groin injury, S Nate Meadors with a hamstring injury, and an unknown injury to DeMarvin Leal.
Tomlin didn’t sound too concerned about the injuries.
“It’s that time of year. It’s the dog days of summer. We’ll get through it. One man’s misfortune is another man’s opportunity,” Tomlin said via Steelers.com.
Highsmith is coming off a seven-sack season following a 14.5-sack campaign in 2022. He’s developed into one of the best pass-rushers in the league, and he forms one of the best duos in the league along with T.J. Watt. Losing Highsmith to injury, if he misses time, is a blow to Pittsburgh’s defense as they get ready for their first preseason game on Friday.
The Steelers know the type of player that Highsmith is, and they won’t need to see much of him throughout the rest of training camp or the preseason. For that reason, the team might be cautious with him to make sure he’s ready to go for the start of the season.
We don’t know anything about the severity of the injury other than that it’s a groin injury. Highsmith has been sidelined with a groin issue in the past, missing practice ahead of Week 5 with a groin injury, but he didn’t miss any games due to injury last season. As it was earlier this season, hopefully, it’s a minor issue and something Highsmith can work through to be ready for the start of the season.
With Highsmith out, more reps could be in store for OLBs Nick Herbig and Markus Golden, who the team brought back last week. Herbig would likely start if Highsmith is forced to miss time in the preseason or into the regular season, and increased reps could be good for his development as he looks to take a second-year leap. Having Highsmith healthy is more important though, and we’ll likely find out more in the coming days on the status of Highsmith’s injury and how long he might be out.
