Steelers Star LB Suffers Ankle Injury

The Pittsburgh Steelers are dealing with some rather significant news on the injury front ahead of a Week 10 primetime game against the Los Angeles Chargers.

Included amongst a rather lengthy injury report to begin the week was outside linebacker Alex Highsmith, who was a non-participant with an ankle injury.

Coming off a standout performance against the Indianapolis Colts with two sacks, which earned him AFC Defensive Player of the Week honors, Highsmith's availability vs. Los Angeles has now become a big question mark.

Highsmith's Recent Injury History

Highsmith missed three games during the 2024 season due to a groin injury and another three with an ankle injury, though he was never inactive during the first four years of his career after being selected by Pittsburgh in the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft.

The 28-year-old fought through a groin injury during training camp in August that held him out of practice for multiple weeks, but he returned later in the month and was ready in time for Week 1.

Highsmith sustained an ankle sprain in Week 2 against the Seattle Seahawks, however, which forced him to miss two games before returning in Week 6 vs. the Cleveland Browns.

He has recorded 22 tackles, 3 1/2 sacks and a forced fumble in six games.

Where Steelers Would Stand if Highsmith Misses Time

There's still a couple of days before Highsmith's status for Pittsburgh's matchup against the Chargers has to be declared, but obviously there's some newfound concern about where he stands in that regard.

Since the Steelers played nearly three full games without Highsmith earlier in the season, they'd be somewhat well-equipped to operate in his absence should he have to miss any time.

T.J. Watt will remain a workhorse for the team regardless of if Highsmith is on the field or not, but Nick Herbig's role would be increased if he is sidelined in Los Angeles.

From Weeks 2 through 4, which was the span in which Highsmith dealt with his ankle injury, Herbig logged a total of 178 defensive snaps. Since Highsmith's return, however, Herbig has seen the field for 143 reps over four games.

Pittsburgh's pass rush came alive against a strong Colts offensive line last week, finishing with six quarterback hits and five sacks, but Highsmith obviously was a huge part of that success.

The Chargers lost star left tackle Joe Alt to a season-ending ankle injury last week, which works in the Steelers' favor, but having to play without Highsmith would still mark a huge loss.