Alex Highsmith didn’t make it through Sunday’s training camp practice with what head coach Mike Tomlin described as a potential groin injury, per the team website.
“The only new injury to mention—Alex Highsmith didn’t finish,” Tomlin said. “Don’t know the severity of it. Over here in the 1-on-1 pass rush, he stopped. He said he felt maybe his groin. But we’ll evaluate it and I’ll be more definitive next time we talk. Not only about the injury but the significance of it.”
Notably, Highsmith missed three games with a groin injury last season and another back in 2021. The injury that caused him to miss time in 2024 was something that initially popped up during training camp. He missed three additional games later in the season last year to an unrelated ankle injury.
Almost exactly a year ago, Highsmith exited training camp practice with a groin injury. The soft-tissue injuries can linger, so the Steelers will need to be careful with how they ease Highsmith back into action.
Highsmith signed a four-year, $68 million extension after the 2022 season in which he had 14.5 sacks. Since then, he has 13 sacks over the last two seasons combined. Injuries slowed him down last year, but the sack total was misleading in 2023 when Highsmith was among the most efficient pass rushers in the league in his pressure rate. He just struggled to finish plays, but his impact was evident.
He has a big opportunity ahead of him this year to bounce back from an injury-plagued 2024 season while playing in the most talented defense of his career. Offensive coordinators are paying more attention to T.J. Watt than ever, giving Alex Highsmith every chance to feast.
Fortunately for the Steelers, they have a deep pool of talent at outside linebacker. Nick Herbig would be a starter for most teams in the league, and rookie fourth-round OLB Jack Sawyer is already showing plenty of promise at training camp.
The Steelers have practice off tomorrow with their next session scheduled for Tuesday. No news is probably good news if we hear nothing from now until Tomlin speaks with the media after Tuesday’s practice.
