The Pittsburgh Steelers were missing one half of their dynamic edge rusher duo of T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith for the last few weeks up until Highsmith’s return for Week 7 against the New York Jets. He didn’t notch a sack, but he made his presence felt with a few strong pressures on Aaron Rodgers.
His three pressures came on 42 snaps. When fully healthy, Highsmith typically plays about 85 percent of the defensive snaps. He played 74 percent in Week 7.
Highsmith was asked if he gained some of his confidence back in his return after dealing with a recurring groin injury.
“Definitely, I feel like I made it through well,” Highsmith said in a video posted by Yardbarker’s Aaron Becker on X. “Definitely pretty sore for now. But like I said, I feel really good. It was more of a limited snap count this past week, but I feel like I’m really, really close to a hundred percent, so it just feels great to be back out there, be with the guys. Being injured sucks.”
After injuring his groin in training camp, Highsmith aggravated it in Week 3 against the Los Angeles Chargers roughly halfway through the game. It wouldn’t have been such a big deal to lose him with Nick Herbig as the No. 3 OLB, but he also got hurt. Then DeMarvin Leal got placed on IR with a neck injury. They were relying on Jeremiah Moon, Eku Leota, and Ade Ogundeji to fill in the gaps.
It probably isn’t a coincidence that the Steelers had their two worst defensive performances without Highsmith. He had a borderline elite season last year in terms of pressure rate and disruption, and he is one of the best run defenders on the team. If you put him opposite T.J. Watt, then teams can’t just avoid Watt all game without facing some consequences.
Other than DT Montravius Adams, who was just placed on IR with a knee injury, the defense is rounding into pretty good health. Herbig should hopefully be available after the bye week, and Cam Sutton will be available then as well with his suspension ending. As the defense continues pushing to be the league’s best unit, Highsmith and the general health of the unit will be very important.
Highsmith will likely be facing LT Joshua Ezeudu on Monday Night Football against the New York Giants. He only has a handful of career starts, including one last week against the Philadelphia Eagles. He allowed two sacks in that game and three total pressures. Highsmith should be able to cause some issues against him.
