“Alex Highsmith feels really good about playing this week”

The Pittsburgh Steelers could get some pretty timely help on their defense this week as Alex Highsmith is trending in the right direction after his groin injury he suffered in Week 3 against the Los Angeles Chargers.

He spoke to the media after training on Wednesday and gave an update on his recovery.

“I’m doing well. The optimism is very, very high,” Alex Highsmith said on 93.7 The Fan on X. “I had a great workout today. I just need to keep feeling better, but I’m feeling really good this week.”

Highsmith has appeared in three games this season and has 11 total tackles, two tackles for loss, one pass defensed and one sack.

The Steelers had a pretty solid rotation of players with TJ Watt, Nick Herbig, Highsmith and DeMarvin Leal, but Watt is the only one left after the last few weeks. Herbig suffered a hamstring injury, Leal suffered a neck injury that landed him on IR, and Highsmith was unavailable due to the groin injury.

That has led to players like Jeremiah Moon, recently activated from IR, and practice squad players like Eku Leota and Ade Ogundeji filling in the gaps. It’s probably no surprise that the team’s sack production has seen a slight decline. The return of Highsmith opposite Watt should help.

They’ll need him this week against the New York Jets to make Aaron Rodgers uncomfortable. He is 40 years old and is suffering from a minor ankle injury that he sustained a few weeks ago. He’s not as mobile as he used to be, so there should be some opportunities to get home, although Rodgers gets rid of the ball very quickly.

The first practice report for Week 7 hasn’t been released yet, but we’ll see if Highsmith was a limited or full participant soon. He needs to reach full fitness by Friday to play, but it looks like he’s on track to get there until his body responds to the extra work.