A welcome sight to be thankful for on this Thanksgiving. Pittsburgh Steelers EDGE Alex Highsmith returned to practice for the first time since injuring his ankle in Week 10 against the Washington Commanders. Per Pittsburgh radio station 93.7 The Fan, Highsmith went through individual drills during the open portion of practice.
Highsmith was listed as a DNP on the team’s Wednesday injury report. Today’s report will be issued in a few hours, and it appears he’ll at least be considered limited.
Speaking with reporters Tuesday, Mike Tomlin left the door open for Highsmith to play Sunday in Cincinnati, echoing comments Highsmith made earlier in the day to the media.
“We got Alex Highsmith leaning in on a return,” Tomlin said during his weekly press conference. “We’ll let his participation and quality of his participation be our guide.”
His return would be a boost against the Cincinnati Bengals. Due to injuries to Highsmith and Nick Herbig, Pittsburgh has rarely had all three of its top EDGE rushers available in the same game this year. They only played together the first three weeks before Highsmith went down midway through the Steelers’ Week 3 win over the Los Angeles Chargers. When he returned in Week 7, Herbig was out of the lineup due to a hamstring injury that held him out until Week 11. When he returned, Alex Highsmith was out again.
It’s one reason why the Steelers have just 25 sacks through their first 11 games. That’s tracking to be their fewest overall since 2016 and their fewest per-game since 2014. T.J. Watt sits as the team leader with 7.5 followed by Cam Heyward’s five. No one else has more than 3.5. On the year, Highsmith has three of them.
If Highsmith still can’t suit up, Herbig will start with Preston Smith, acquired from the Green Bay Packers ahead of the trade deadline, rotating in. Jeremiah Moon would be the team’s fourth-string outside linebacker, mostly playing on special teams.
