A slight tweak of Alex Highsmith's groin near the end of Wednesday's practice sent a brief shock wave into the AFC North landscape when he was unable to practice Thursday.
The Steelers' pass rusher returned to practice Friday, though, and he reinforced the hold-out was precautionary. He said he will be ready to play Sunday at 1 p.m. against the Ravens. He has been listed as questionable on the team's official injury report released Friday.
"I'll be good," Highsmith said after Friday's practice at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. "Just a little tightness, but just want to be smart with it. I'll be ready to go. ... It was just something that popped up during practice, so I've been getting a lot of treatment on it, taking care of it, resting it well so I'll feel good on Sunday."
Here is a video montage of Highsmith working on coverage drills with the linebackers group during the open filming window on Friday:
Highsmith's presence single-handedly affected the outcome of the Steelers' first AFC North matchup of the season. He intercepted Deshaun Watson and returned it for a touchdown and then forced a strip sack of Watson that T.J. Watt was able to return for another score. Those two impact plays willed the Steelers to a 26-22 victory over the Browns on Monday Night Football in Week 2. Highsmith was named the AFC Defensive Player of the Week for his effort.
Though he did not record a sack on Sunday against the Texans, Highsmith's presence was still felt. He recorded four pressures on C.J. Stroud on 27 pass-rush reps and consistently fought double teams and tight-end chips in the matchup.
The Steelers will need every bit of him that they can get against the Ravens, if he is able to play. Their 151.3 rushing yards per game rank fourth in the NFL, and Sunday will be the third instance the Steelers will oppose a top-five rushing attack in the NFL after facing the 49ers and Browns earlier in the season. The Steelers allowed 188 rushing yards to the 49ers and 198 to the Browns in those matchups.
Of course, the Ravens' successes on the ground begin with former MVP Lamar Jackson. Because of injuries sustained at parts of his career, Jackson has only faced the Steelers five times in his five full seasons in the NFL. For context, he has played in nine games against the Bengals and 10 against the Browns in his career.
Jackson is averaging 4.62 yards per carry and 43.4 rushing yards in those five games against the Steelers.
"We were just talking about it. It's been a while since we've played him," Watt said. "... Just about being decisive, doing your job, understanding who has what in the run game. Obviously there's a quarterback-run element of it. You can't try to do too much in being a quarterback player, being a dive player, and vice-versa. And then it's just tackling. I feel like every week I come up here and talk about tackling, but it truly is super important for us as defenders to get the guy on the ground early so he's not getting those yards after contact."
Highsmith expressed no physical limitations because of the injury. If he is not at 100 percent or is ruled out for Sunday, Markus Golden would be in line to seize the reps opposite Watt, with Nick Herbig aiding where needed. On Friday, Golden emphasized his preparation cycle for this game is "nothing new" to him.
"You say Lamar Jackson, he's a great player, great all-around, electric player," Golden said. "You've got to do your job with him. Be able to contain him and make sure he's not going to be able to make those big splash plays like he's always making. That's it, mostly. Just getting out there, doing your job, and making sure you're able to be in that spot to contain him."
Golden and Herbig were on the field for a combined 17 snaps against the Texans Sunday. Per Pro Football Focus, Golden's pass-rush grade of 70.0 was the second-best for the Steelers behind Cole Holcomb's grade of 70.0 in that game.
Highsmith's limitations could bring opportunity for Herbig, who stood out in training camp and the preseason for his get-off and quickness around the edge but has been fairly quiet to start the regular season. On Thursday, Teryl Austin said the coaching staff allowing for the game to come naturally to the rookie.
"I think it's all a matter of the game," Austin said. "I think one of the things that would help is if we could get him behind the chains and we have an opportunity to rush them, because that's really his strong suit. But until then, we'll just let the game come to him and we'll get him what we can and grow him as best we can with the amount of reps. But, the bottom line is we have two really, really good outside linebackers, and we have to keep those guys on the field as much as possible."
