Category: Alex Highsmith

Steelers LB Alex Highsmith out of concussion protocol

The Steelers should have both of their starting outside linebackers on Saturday.

On the same day that Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker T.J. Watt was released from NFL concussion protocols, his teammate and fellow starter Alex Highsmith was as well. This means both guys should be ready to go on Saturday when the Steelers go on the road to take on the Indianapolis Colts.

Highsmith went down early in last Thursday’s loss to the New England Patriots with what was originally called a neck injury but was unable to return.

Pittsburgh is going to need big games from Watt and Highsmith if they hope to break this two-game losing streak and stay in the playoff hunt. Highsmith has had a disappointing year after signing a huge new contract. Coming off of a season where he set a career-high with 14.5 sacks, Highsmith only has 6.0 this year. That’s not to say he hasn’t been productive in other ways but all pass rushers are ultimately measured by sacks.

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Steelers’ T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith have opportunity to feast on ‘in shambles’ Texans line

Steelers pass rush duo T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith could rack up sacks against a Texans team with a struggling O-line.

Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud is having himself a year. Recently named Rookie of the Month, he’s fifth in the NFL in passing yards and averaging 300 yards passing per game. But those numbers are inflated partially due to the weaker opponents he’s faced in the Indianapolis Colts and Jacksonville Jaguars, who allowed 384 and 280 yards.

The Texans got a real taste for a tough defensive opponent right out of the gate, though. In Week 1 versus the Baltimore Ravens, Stroud took five sacks and, deducting the 46 yards lost, was limited to 196 pass yards. No touchdowns were thrown on 44 pass attempts.

This week is easily Stroud’s biggest test so far this season as far as pressure goes. Sharp Football Analysis’ Warren Sharp noted that when T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith and company get pressure on the quarterback, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ defense is fourth in EPA (expected points added) per attempt.

Stroud is second behind only Miami Dolphins’ Tua Tagovailoa when kept clean. That’s nice and all, but he’s been sacked 11 times, tied for fourth-most with New Orleans Saints’ Derek Carr.

“You have to be aware of them, but at the same time, we have to have confidence in what we’re doing,” Stroud said of Watt and Highsmith on Wednesday. “They have to play us, too. We’re not just going to lay down and just submit because he’s the best player.”

The Steelers lead the league in sacks by a wide margin with 13 (the next team is the Buffalo Bills with nine). Watt and Highsmith own more than half of that number. The Texans’ 23rd-ranked offensive line, which includes beloved former Steelers guard/center Kendrick Green, will have its hands full.

I get the feeling Stroud will be lying down a lot this afternoon.

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Steelers EDGE Alex Highsmith reacts to T.J. Watt’s DPOM honors

High Wattage.

Alex Highsmith had to deal with double teams for eight games in 2022 in T.J. Watt‘s absence. Now that Watt’s 100 percent and back to his usual dominating ways, Highsmith is more free to do what he does.

And he’s thankful for it.

“I am just blessed to go to war with that guy every week,” Highsmith told Teresa Varley of Steelers.com after learning Watt earned AFC Defensive Player of the Month. “He makes me better. To see his process, what he does. There is a reason he is who he is. He is the best in the world at what he does. Just to go to battle with him every week is awesome.”

The list of ridiculous September stats for Watt seems to go on and on. Six sacks, 11 tackles, nine of them solo stops, 12 quarterback hits, five tackles for a loss, two passes defensed, two forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries, including one for a 16-yard score. He surpassed James Harrison as the franchise’s all-time sack leader and leads in overall sacks made in the month of September.

Per Steelers.com, Watt is the first player to record six sacks and register a defensive touchdown in a team’s first three games of a season since 1982 (when the NFL officially started tracking sacks).

Watt and Highsmith have cemented themselves as one of — if not the best — edge duos in the NFL. The pair hijacked the Cleveland Browns offense in the Week 2 Monday Night Football matchup when they both scored touchdowns. It was Highsmith’s first pick-six, and Watt had three career touchdowns off various plays.

The two are licking their chops with their next matchup versus the Houston Texans. Rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud, September’s Offensive Rookie of the Month, is the fourth most-sacked quarterback in the league with 11.

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Steelers EDGE Alex Highsmith wins AFC Defensive Player of the Week

Alex Highsmith helped the Steelrs score two touchdowns last week.

The NFL had its pick of Pittsburgh Steelers for the Week Two Defensive Player of the Week. Pittsburgh got huge performances out of outside linebackers T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith on Monday night against the Cleveland Browns and in the end, it was Highsmith who won out for the week.

Highsmith got things going fast for the Steelers on Monday. He snatched a deflected pass out of the air on the Browns first play and took it to the house for a touchdown.

Then for an encore, Highsmith got the rush on Cleveland quarterback Deshaun Watson and got a strip sack that Watt scooped up and took in for the second defensive touchdown of the game for the Steelers.

Highsmith’s full stat line for the game was seven total tackles, one sack, one tackle for loss, one pass defended, two quarterback hits and one touchdown.

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T.J. Watt shares post-game stage with teammate Alex Highsmith

After T.J. Watt surpassed James Harrison as the Pittsburgh Steelers all-time sack leader, he refused for the spotlight to shine only on him.

T.J. Watt knew it was going to be all about him. Only he wasn’t having that. After surpassing James Harrison as the Pittsburgh Steelers franchise sack leader, ESPN’s Lisa Salters grabbed Watt for a postgame interview. Instead of bogarting the spotlight, he deservedly chose Alex Highsmith to share it with him. Watt’s has never been a me-first kind of guy, and he wasn’t about to start now.

“I just want to say that it’s an honor to work with this man, Alex Highsmith,” Watt told Salters as teammates ran by putting imaginary crowns on his head. “You talk about edge defenders as Pittsburgh Steelers… to be able to start the game with a pick-6 was massive.”

Highsmith gave it right back to his teammate.

“I’m blessed to play with this man right here. He makes me better, he pushes me to be better. We’re looking forward to getting back to work. This is a good way to get back on track.”

Watt and Highsmith put on a show at Acrisure on Monday Night Football, putting them firmly in the best-pass-rush-duo-in-the-NFL conversation. The two were sharing a brain versus the Cleveland Browns. In what was surprisingly the first touchdown of Watt’s seven-year career, Highsmith caused the fumble for him to scoop. But not to be outdone by the very first touchdown of Highsmith’s career. The only thing that made it sweeter was that it came on the first play of the game.

As the night drew to a close, the production by Watt and Highsmith was game-changing: Four tackles (two for loss), a sack, four quarterback hits, a defended pass and a score for Watt. Seven tackles (one for loss), and one of each in sacks, defended passes, forced fumbles and pick-sixes.

“We needed it,” Mike Tomlin told Steelers media of Watt and Highsmith’s performances. “We expect it. And they delivered.”

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Alex Highsmith’s master plan is working like a charm

Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker Alex Highsmith made a promise to “shut out the noise” and he’s making it happen.

“Shut out the noise” is a popular phrase, especially among athletes who are focused on the tasks at hand — being the best version of themselves and, of course, winning while they’re at it. It became a mantra the Pittsburgh Steelers organization adopted when receivers coach Darryl Drake repeated it on the regular. In August 2019, Drake, 62, was found dead in his Latrobe dorm room after the team’s first day of training camp practice, according to The Athletic.

In his honor, then Steelers receiver Donte Moncrief had black and gold bracelets and apparel with the phrase stamped on them.

A couple of days before Pittsburgh kicked off its 2023 season versus the San Fransisco 49ers, Alex Highsmith sent fans into a brief frenzy by deleting his account on X. He was declining podcast interviews and even his dad, Sam — one of the most famous current Steelers parents — was declining them out of respect for his son.

Historically, deleting social accounts has been a sign that there’s discord between the player and his team, or worse, an injury has occurred. Thankfully it was neither, as Highsmith put the speculation to rest by posting to Instagram: “Shut out the noise. It’s time.”

Well, his master plan is working like a charm. Highsmith made an incredible defensive play in the form of a 30-yard pick-6 versus the Cleveland Browns on Monday, setting the tone on defense, a unit that won the game with its tremendous hustle.

Highsmith added a sack, seven tackles (one for loss), two hits on Deshaun Watson and a forced fumble — a category he co-led the NFL in with five in 2022 (currently, T.J. Watt and Cole Holcomb hold that distinction with two each). Watt also recovered a fumble for a 16-yard score. Ground game aside, Pittsburgh’s D was on fire.

Highsmith, 26, signed a massive four-year, $68 million extension in the offseason and continues to show he’s worth every penny.

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Contract details for Steelers LB Alex Highsmith

The Steelers are banking on Alex Highsmith continuing to improve as a pass rusher.

In another shrewd move by Pittsburgh Steelers general manager Omar Khan, the Steelers got star outside linebacker Alex Highsmith signed to a new five-year contract just a week out from the start of training camp.

Highsmith is coming off of his best year as a pro where he finished with 14.5 sacks and led the league with five forced fumbles. The folks over at Over the Cap broke down the contract details by season.

The contract allows for $16.208 million in signing bonuses spread out over the life of the contract. The total base salary for the five seasons is $54.743 million and the total value of the contract is $70.951 million.

In 2023, the new contract only hits the salary cap for an extra $1.5 million which is a bargain. This contract gives the Steelers three seasons to really watch Highsmith develop before the structure sets up to give Pittsburgh something of an out starting in 2026. This happens to also be the season after T.J. Watt’s current contract expires.

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3 takeaways from Alex Highsmith’s contract extension

The Steelers solidified the best pass rush in the NFL this week.

On Wednesday morning, edge rusher Alex Highsmith and the Pittsburgh Steelers agreed to terms on a new five-year contract worth $68 million. This makes Highsmith one of the highest-paid edge rushers in the NFL after his breakout 2022 season. Here are our takeaways from the signing.

Steelers LB Alex Highsmith gets big raise for 2023

Alex Highsmith and two other Steelers got big raises this week.

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No, we are not talking about a contract extension for Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker Alex Highsmith. Nevertheless, Highsmith did get himself a nice big raise this week thanks to the NFL’s Proven Performance escalator.

The escalator helps build in raises for players deemed underpaid based on the number of snaps played as well as their performance. For Highsmith, this means because he played 68 percent of total snaps over his first three seasons (the threshold for a second-round pick is 60 percent), his 2023 salary gets a big bump.

Highsmith goes from making $1,089,000 million in 2023 to $2.672 million. This number is the average right of first refusal tender for a restricted free agent. This is the first of what Highsmith hopes will be two big raises this offseason as he awaits a massive contract extension.

Two other Steelers also qualified for the Level One escalator with guard Kevin Dotson and punter Braden Mann both more than doubling their 2023 salaries after previous performances.

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