The Pittsburgh Steelers have ridden their defense to a surprising 3-0 start to the season, but that defense will be without one of its best players for the next few weeks.
Edge rusher Alex Highsmith is expected to miss 2-3 weeks with a groin injury, via The Pittsburgh Post-Gazzette. The injury is not considered "major" and Highsmith will not require surgery, per ESPN.
Highsmith suffered the injury during the first half of the Steelers' Week 3 win over the Los Angeles Chargers. After playing 49 snaps in each of Pittsburgh's first two games, he left after just 25 snaps on Sunday.
Highsmith and T.J. Watt have formed one of the NFL's top edge duos over the past few seasons. He collected 27.5 sacks and 159 pressures between 2021 and 2023, figures that ranked 16th and 20th, respectively, leaguewide. His pressure rate of 11.4%, via Tru Media, placed him in the top-third of the 204 players who rushed the passer at least 500 times during that span. While it paled in comparison to Watt's 15.1% (tied for 15th among the same group), it still ranked among the best No. 2 pass-rushers in the league.
In his absence, Nick Herbig will likely see more work across from Watt. He had a pair of sacks against the Chargers, along with a forced fumble three run stops, according to Pro Football Focus. The 2023 fourth-round pick had three sacks in limited action (17% of defensive snaps) last season, but will now be in for an expanded role as the Steelers face the Colts, Cowboys and Raiders over the next few weeks.
