The Pittsburgh Steelers are dealing with several notable injuries going into Week 3, particularly on defense. Mike Tomlin rattled off several starters as being questionable or out against the New England Patriots. That includes Alex Highsmith, who left the Steelers’ Week 2 game with an ankle injury. Luckily, the Steelers just got Nick Herbig back from his injury, and he’s shown he can be a capable starter. However, that leaves rookie Jack Sawyer as the top backup at that spot. Tomlin is happy with the young pass rusher’s development in a short span of time, though.
“I thought it was a significant improvement in the quality of his play on defense and in [special] teams,” Tomlin said Tuesday during his weekly press conference via the team’s YouTube channel. “But I think that’s a reasonable expectation for a lot of young people. He had been in a stadium. I thought he played with more emotion, I thought he was more vocal, I thought he was more productive, probably because of that comfort.
“I’m excited about the extended opportunities that he’s gonna continue to get, particularly with Highsmith being out now. Oftentimes, one man’s misfortune is another man’s opportunity. He’s gotten some opportunity because of Herbig’s lack of availability and now that Herbig is back, he’ll continue to get some more opportunities because of Highsmith’s lack of availability.”
Sawyer has gotten a decent amount of work early in the season because of the Steelers’ injuries at outside linebacker. In Week 1, his inexperience showed, Sawyer only recording one tackle.
However, in Week 2, the fourth-round pick’s presence was more notable. Sawyer had six total tackles, two tackles for loss, and his first NFL sack. Granted, he was left unblocked on that play, but he still brought the quarterback down.
Tomlin explained perfectly why it wasn’t shocking to see Sawyer make more of an impact after his first real NFL game. He’s a rookie, so he’s got a long way to go, but he’s trending in a positive direction. While Sawyer isn’t the most refined pass rusher, he had a knack for making plays in college. Perhaps that can carry over to the NFL.
Tomlin’s Steelers have always embraced a next-man-up mentality, and for Sawyer, that means the training wheels coming off a little sooner than anticipated. He’s got a lot on his plate, playing special teams and getting a bigger role on defense, but he’s impressed so far.
If he can keep it up, that will be great for the Steelers until Highsmith is healthy. It doesn’t sound like he should miss an extended period of time. The Steelers’ front seven is supposed to be one of their greatest strengths. Unfortunately, that unit has struggled to start this year. However, young talents like Sawyer could help them stay afloat as they navigate these early injuries.
