The Pittsburgh Steelers have had pretty good injury luck so far on defense, but there were three injuries throughout their Week 3 game against the Los Angeles Chargers. Alex Highsmith exited the game with a groin injury after a near-sack of Justin Herbert at the end of the first half. He did not return and was labeled doubtful pretty quickly with a groin injury.
It didn’t sound great with the quick doubtful designation, and there were reports that he slammed his helmet to the ground in frustration after coming out of the blue medical tent.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Steelers insider Gerry Dulac offered a small update this morning via 102.5 WDVE’s Randy Baumann Morning Show.
“Alex Highsmith, I saw him after the game. I mean, he told me he’s gonna be okay,” Dulac said. “They all kind of say that after a game, and we shall see.”
It is at least a small positive sign that Highsmith was speaking to some members of the media. It is true that most players say they will be fine, but it sounds like Highsmith may have avoided a major injury to his groin.
This is not the first time Highsmith has dealt with a groin injury. He was on the injury report with a groin in Week 5 of the 2023 season. He ended up playing in that game and didn’t miss any time. He did miss a game in 2021 with a groin issue and dealt with that injury for multiple weeks.
While Highsmith was out against the Chargers, Nick Herbig entered the game and had two sacks, including one strip-sack of Justin Herbert. Fortunately, the Steelers’ edge rotation of Watt, Highsmith, and Herbig is the deepest the group has been in quite some time. If Highsmith is forced to miss a game or two, it won’t be a huge drop-off in play.
Prior to exiting the game, Highsmith had just one total tackle and one pressure.
