Steelers Now
With Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker Nick Herbig receiving a massive new deal the day prior, eyebrows were raised when Alex Highsmith was absent from the team’s minicamp practice last Wednesday. It had nothing to do with Herbig’s new deal, however.
Highsmith was not at the team’s minicamp practice on Wednesday due to an illness, according to team spokesman Burt Lauten.
Alan Saunders of Steelers Now reported that Highsmith did report to the Steelers facility on Wednesday morning before being excused.
Highsmith was at the team’s OTAs session on Monday, via a photograph posted on the Steelers’ official website. Which further indicates that there’s no drama with Highsmith over the new Herbig deal.
The Steelers have three elite edge rushers in Herbig, Highsmith and T.J. Watt. All three have received hefty paydays, too.
“I think the most important thing is, when you look at the business side of this, you pay players that obviously you feel deserve it,” Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy said last Wednesday at the second minicamp practice. “So, you can never have enough good football players, especially at the outside linebacker or the linebacker position. They’re all playmakers.
“So I am thrilled to death that we have them all.”
McCarthy believes he has one of the best edge rusher trios in the NFL.
“It’s a premier position in the National Football League, and we feel we have one of the premier groups,” McCarthy said.
“You gotta find ways to play everybody. This is not an 11-man operation.”
Highsmith is entering his seventh season with the Steelers. He’s racked up 45 sacks and forced 10 fumbles since being drafted in the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft.
Alan Saunders contributed.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: No Drama: Alex Highsmith Returns to Practice
