The Pittsburgh Steelers were without one of their key defenders last week in Alex Highsmith, but will the veteran outside linebacker make his return to the lineup in Week 12 against the Cleveland Browns.
Highsmith came down with an ankle sprain in the Week 10 contest against the Washington Commanders while trying to bring rookie phenom and quarterback Jayden Daniels down for a sack.
Highsmith was considered week-to-week with the injury, which was actually good news considering how bad it looked. The former third-round pick was not able to play against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 11, though.
Earlier in the week, head coach Mike Tomlin did not immediately shut the door on Highsmith playing on Thursday, although he did say it was more likely that the 27-year-old would sit out than play.
Let’s see what the latest is on Highsmith’s status for Week 12.
Is Alex Highsmith playing tonight?
According to the team’s official injury report, Highsmith did not practice the entire week and has been ruled out for the game against the Browns on Thursday night.
We’ll now be turning our attention to Week 13 as the next possible return date for Highsmith, who has missed five games due to injury this season. Previously, Highsmith missed three contests due to a groin issue.
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Thankfully, the Steelers have more than enough to weather the storm without him in the lineup. On top of Nick Herbig making his return to the lineup in Week 11 following a four-game absence due to injury, the Steelers have recent trade acquisition Preston Smith, also.
Herbig saw 50 snaps in his first game back last week, while Smith saw a dip in his playing time with 17 after tallying 23 in his debut.
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“We were getting off the field,” Tomlin said of the snap distribution between Smith and Herbig. “We were possessing the ball some on offense. There wasn’t as many defensive snaps to go around. Herbig’s conditioning —or lack thereof — wasn’t as compromised because of those things and it made the divvying of the reps a less significant discussion, to be quite honest with you.”
The Browns and Steelers meet at Huntington Bank Field on Thursday night, with kickoff set for 8:15 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on Amazon Prime Video.
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