The Pittsburgh Steelers managed to sneak away with a 28-27 road victory over the Washington Commanders on Sunday, but the team suffered a good amount of bumps and bruises throughout the contest. Donte Jackson had to leave the game which he has done more than once during the 2024 season while he battles through a nagging shoulder injury. Najee Harris exited the game as well for some time but did return, and Alex Highsmith suffered what looked like a serious ankle injury late in the fourth quarter.
Alysa Rubin / Pittsburgh Steelers
Steelers' Alex Highsmith warms up before a game against the Washington Commanders in 2024.
Highsmith has already had some issues with injuries in 2024. He suffered a groin injury earlier in the season against the Los Angeles Chargers which caused him to miss multiple weeks, and now the outside linebacker could miss more time. Near the end of the fourth quarter Highsmith went down with an ankle injury while chasing down Jayden Daniels, and he was clearly in a lot of pain as he was helped off of the field.
Alex Highsmith was using crutches to leave the locker room
— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) November 10, 2024
The edge rusher was seen using crutches to move around in the locker room following the victory, and the severity of the injury has not yet been disclosed. Based on the visual that was seen on the field, he will likely miss an extended period of time. It was clearly an ankle injury, but hopefully it isn't anything extremely serious.
Pittsburgh acquired Preston Smith at the trade deadline and Nick Herbig is expected to return soon from his own injury, so there isn't any need to rush Highsmith back on the field.
Alysa Rubin / Pittsburgh Steelers
Steelers' Alex Highsmith warms up prior to a 2024 matchup with the Los Angeles Chargers.
Fans won't know more about the severity of Highsmith's injury until he undergoes further testing, but hopefully he isn't forced to miss too much time as he already missed three games earlier in the year. The outside linebacker has a lot to do with the success of TJ Watt and the Pittsburgh defense as a whole, and his absence will be felt even with Smith and Herbig available.
Jared Wickerham / Pittsburgh Steelers
Steelers' Alex Highsmith celebrates during a game against the Los Angeles Chargers in 2024.
Steelers' Alex Highsmith Has Been One Of The Team's Best Defenders In 2024
Highsmith may not get the same level of recognition as Watt, but he can certainly impact a game. He only has three sacks on the season but is one of Pittsburgh's highest graded defenders according to PFF as he has been given a grade of 82.7 for the 2024 season. He consistently forces quarterbacks into making bad decisions and accounts for a lot of Pittsburgh's pressures. The outside linebacker even had a sack taken away in the win over the Commanders thanks to a holding penalty in the secondary.
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