The Pittsburgh Steelers could be receiving some pretty timely help to their defensive front this week with Alex Highsmith trending in the right direction from his groin injury suffered in Week 3 against the Los Angeles Chargers.
He spoke to the media after practice Wednesday and gave an update on his recovery.
“I’m feeling good. The optimism is very, very high,” Alex Highsmith said via 93.7 The Fan on X. “I had a great practice today. Just got to keep feeling better, but I’m feeling really good about this week.”
Highsmith has appeared in three games this season, and has 11 total tackles, two tackles for loss, one pass defensed, and a sack.
The Steelers had a pretty solid rotation of players in T.J. Watt, Nick Herbig, Highsmith, and DeMarvin Leal, but Watt is the only one left standing after the last few weeks. Herbig suffered a hamstring injury, Leal suffered a neck injury that landed him on IR, and Highsmith has been unavailable due to the groin injury.
That has left guys like Jeremiah Moon, who was recently activated from IR, and practice squad players like Eku Leota and Ade Ogundeji to fill in the gaps. It is probably no surprise that the team’s sack production has experienced a bit of a dip. Getting Highsmith back in the mix opposite Watt should help remedy that.
They are going to need him this week against the New York Jets to help make Aaron Rodgers uncomfortable. He is 40 years old and dealing with a minor ankle injury suffered a couple weeks ago. He isn’t as mobile as he once was, so there should be some opportunities to get home, though Rodgers gets rid of the ball very fast.
The initial practice report for Week 7 hasn’t been released yet, but we will see if Highsmith was a limited or full participant before too long. He will need to get to full participation by Friday to have a chance to play, but it sounds like he is on track for that to happen pending how his body responds to added work.
