Tag: Alex Highsmith

Steelers receive bad news ahead of 2025 NFL Draft

The Pittsburgh Steelers won’t have any compensatory picks in the 2025 NFL Draft, limiting their chances to add another hidden gem.

The Pittsburgh Steelers have proven themselves adept at selecting elite talent with compensatory picks in the NFL Draft—and it has now been confirmed that they will receive none of these selections.

Some of the biggest home-run hits from the compensatory picks made by the Pittsburgh Steelers include legends like Hines Ward, elite playmakers like RB James Conner and OLB Alex Highsmith, and rising stars like WR Calvin Austin III. It is nothing short of bad news that the Steel City will have no opportunity to add to this list in 2025.

While the compensatory pick system is complicated, it can typically be summed up by determining whether a team lost more free agents than they signed in an offseason—which the Pittsburgh Steelers did not in 2024.

While Pittsburgh’s 2024 NFL Draft class proved that GM Omar Khan and the Steelers’ front office are more than capable of finding elite talent throughout all seven rounds, it is troubling that the team will be without any compensatory picks heading into the 2025 NFL Draft.

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Top photos from Ravens 28-14 win over the Steelers in AFC Wild Card game

Top photos from the Baltimore Ravens 28-14 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers in AFC Wild Card game

The Ravens are peaking at the right time and look like the most complete team in the AFC after a 28-14 win over the rival Steelers on Saturday night at M&T Bank Stadium.

Baltimore will now wait for Sunday afternoon’s conclusion of the Buffalo Bills’ matchup against the Denver Broncos. If the Bills win, the Ravens will travel to Buffalo, while a Broncos win will see John Harbaugh’s team host the Houston Texans next week.

Here are the top photos from the win.

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Ravens advance to AFC Divisional Round with 28-14 win over Steelers

Baltimore Ravens advance to AFC Divisional Round with 28-14 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers in Wild Card game

The journey isn’t complete, but the Ravens avoided embarrassment and moved onto the AFC Divisional Round of the playoffs with a convincing 28-10 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers at M&T Bank Stadium on Saturday night.

Quarterback Lamar Jackson was 16-21 passing for 175 yards, two touchdowns, and a 132.0 rating. Jackson rushed 15 times for 81 yards, while Derrick Henry carried the night, logging 186 yards on 26 rushing attempts and two touchdowns.

Baltimore’s defense held Pittsburgh to 280 yards of offense, with just 29 yards rushing on the ground. Najee Harris finished with six carries for 17 yards, and Jaylen Warren had two for six yards on the night. The Steelers had the football for just 20:27.

Baltimore will now wait for the conclusion of the Buffalo Bills matchup against the Denver Broncos on Sunday afternoon.

If the Bills win on Sunday, the Ravens will travel to Buffalo, while a Broncos win will see John Harbaugh’s team host the Houston Texans next week.

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Sights and sounds from first half as Ravens hold a 21-0 lead over Steelers in AFC Wild Card game

Sights and sounds from first half as Ravens hold a 21-0 lead over Steelers in AFC Wild Card game

Like a Samantha Pollino Broadway Performance, the Ravens were flawless in the first half and looked like a Super Bowl favorite, jumping out to an early 14-0 lead.

After holding Pittsburgh to a three and out, Baltimore navigated a 13-play, 95-yard drive that ate almost 8 minutes of clock to put the Ravens on the board, 7-0. The Ravens dominated offensively and ended the first half with a 21-0 lead.

Here are sights and sounds from the first half.

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Alex Highsmith confident Steelers can bounce back heading into Week 18

Steelers ROLB Alex Highsmith sees Week 18 as the perfect chance to bounce back against the Bengals after a rough losing streak.

Morale is at an all-time low for the Pittsburgh Steelers following three consecutive losses during the ’10-day stretch of doom’ that saw the Philadelphia Eagles, Baltimore Ravens, and Kansas City Chiefs soundly defeat the Steel City’s beloved Black and Gold.

However, Steelers ROLB Alex Highsmith isn’t lacking confidence and believes it is just a matter of time before Pittsburgh returns to the winning ways displayed earlier in the season.

The Steelers edge rusher spoke with Teresa Varley of Steelers.com, and argued that Week 18’s matchup—a divisional showdown with the Cincinnati Bengals—is the perfect opportunity to showcase what the Steelers are truly capable of. To make this return to form a reality, Highsmith believes the recipe for success is simple: “We’ve just got to put our heads down and work.”

The Cincinnati Bengals are on the verge of earning a playoff berth and could look to pull out all the stops with their electrifying offense led by QB Joe Burrow and WR Ja’Marr Chase. Fans can tune into the action-packed divisional contest on January 4th at 5:00 PM EST.

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Sights and sounds from first half as Ravens hold a 17-10 lead over the Steelers

Sights and sounds from first half as Ravens hold a 17-10 lead over the Steelers

It wasn’t a pretty start, but the Ravens again held a halftime lead over the Steelers, 17-10, with 30 minutes left to play at M&T Bank Stadium.

Baltimore had 201 yards of offense and went 2-5 on third downs in the first half. Pittsburgh has 170 yards of offense, 2-4 on third down, and one turnover in a highly intense first half.

With the second half set to begin, here are sights and sounds from the first half.

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T.J. Watt keeps everyone in the dark with 3 simple words about his status this week

The Steelers need T.J. Watt to be ready to go against the Ravens.

After suffering an injury in last week’s game, Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker T.J. Watt has been limited at practice all week. The Steelers are preparing to take on the Baltimore Ravens this week in their biggest game of the season but Watt is keeping everyone in the dark about if he is playing or not.

Watt simply said “We will see” when asked if he was going to play. This doesn’t exactly inspire confidence for this week’s game. Given the gravity of this game, we’d be shocked if Watt didn’t at least try to play. If he’s no 100 percent, the Steelers could start Alex Highsmith and Nick Herbig and let Watt work in as a pass-rush specialist and keep him on a pitch count.

 

T.J. Watt suffers apparent ankle injury in Week 15 vs Eagles

T.J. Watt’s late-game injury clouds the Pittsburgh Steelers’ playoff outlook, but their depth at linebacker offers hope.

As if the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Week 15, 13-27 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles couldn’t get any worse, their best player on defense appeared to suffer an injury to his left leg at the end of the contest.

With under five minutes remaining, T.J. Watt attempted to bend to the outside to get around Eagles RT Lane Johnson but collapsed to the ground, clutching his left foot and ankle area.

The good news is that Watt ultimately walked off the field under his own power, but the timing couldn’t be worse with the playoffs just weeks away.

The Pittsburgh Steelers boast incredible depth at the outside linebacker position, with a plethora of capable pass rushers—Preston Smith, Nick Herbig, and Alex Highsmith—ready to step up in Watt’s potential absence. Watt’s availability for the remainder of the regular season will be the top question on everyone’s minds. Stay tuned to Steelers Wire for updates.

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Sights and sounds from first half as Eagles hold a 17-13 lead over Steelers

Sights and sounds from first half as Eagles hold a 17-13 lead over Steelers

Philadelphia established its passing game and was dominant on defense, but the scoreboard tells a different story as the Eagles hold just a 17-13 lead over Pittsburgh after one half.

Vic Fangio’s defense held the Steelers to just 80 yards of offense on 30 plays in the first half, but two costly Eagles turnovers and two Chris Boswell field goals have Mike Tomlin’s team within four.

With the second half set to begin, we’re looking at sights and sounds from the first half.

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Steelers expect Eagles to leave OTs on island in pass pro

The Steelers face a huge challenge this week in the Eagles offensive tackles.

The Philadelphia Eagles have two of the best starting offensive tackles in the NFL. The combination of Jordan Mailata and Lane Johnson gives Philadelphia plenty of freedom when it comes to blocking. This week they take on the Pittsburgh Steelers and according to Steelers defensive coordinator Teryl Austin, he expects them to work against the Steelers pass rushers with no help

Pittsburgh plans to deploy their pass rushers in a variety of ways against the Eagles. With Alex Highsmith healthy the Steelers have three quality edge players along with T.J. Watt and Nick Herbig. If the Eagles dare them to beat their tackles one-on-one, Pittsburgh had better take advantage.

Historically, the Steelers have been among the best pass-rushing teams in the NFL but 2024 has been different. Watt leads the team with 9.5 sacks but Herbig and Highsmith have combined for only 8.5.

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