Steelers Now
Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker Alex Highsmith will not be traveling with the team to Ireland, the team announced on Thursday, as he continues to recover from a high ankle sprain.
Highsmith suffered the ankle injury during practice the week leading up to the Steelers’ Week 2 game against the Seattle Seahawks. He tried to play through it, but was unable to get through the first half of that game.
Highsmith missed the team’s Week 3 road game against the New England Patriots, and had previously been ruled out by head coach Mike Tomlin.
“You can characterize Alex Highsmith as ‘out’ this week with his ankle,” Tomlin said Tuesday during a press conference at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex.
The Steelers took off from Pittsburgh, without Highsmith, at about 8:45 p.m. on Thursday. They arrived about six and a half hours later, at 2:45 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time and just after 8 a.m. in Dublin.
They’ll have a practice in Ireland on Friday and a walkthrough on Saturday before Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Vikings at Croke Park.
Nick Herbig replaced Highsmith in the starting lineup against the Patriots, and had a sack, forced fumble and two tackles in the game.
Through two games this season, Highsmith has collected nine combined tackles, a tackle for loss and three quarterback hits. He’s played in 79 games for the Steelers, starting 68, since being selected in the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft. In that time, he’s racked up 36.5 sacks, three interceptions and nine forced fumbles.
During training camp, Highsmith dealt with a groin injury suffered during a 1-on-1 drill. He healed quickly enough from that ailment to get back for the Steelers’ season-opening win at the New York Jets.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Steelers Defender Stays Behind as Team Leaves for Ireland
