Player: OLB Alex Highsmith
Stock price: rising
reasoning: Alex Highsmith is expected to return against the New York Jets after missing three games due to injury. The Steelers struggled to make up for TJ Watt’s absence due to Nick Herbig’s subsequent injury. Having Highsmith back would be a huge boost to the defense, which will try to enter the bye week strong.
Alex Highsmith recorded 11 tackles, including two for loss, and had a sack and a pass defended in 123 snaps. Now that may pale in comparison to what Nick Herbig can do, but let’s not kid ourselves. Highsmith is a great player and the Steelers defense has felt his absence.
Highsmith suffered a groin injury in Week 3 against the Chargers. This is a new groin injury from camp. He did not return to practice until last week and worked on a limited basis. Despite limited work yesterday, he expressed great optimism that he will play.
The Steelers began the season with three true outside linebackers, with Herbig backing up Highsmith and TJ Watt. That’s because Jeremiah Moon was placed on the reserve/injured list, and DeMarvin Leal could also hunker down inside.
However, Leal is likely to be sidelined for the remainder of the season, and it is speculated we may not see Nick Herbig again before this week. Moon deserves praise for his efforts, but bringing Alex Highsmith back now would be a huge help.
Highsmith is one of the most complete 3-4 edge defenders in the league, and he’s also an outstanding defender. Even though the Steelers no longer have outside linebackers in coverage, he can take care of his business there too.
The bottom line is that the Steelers can do more on defense if they get Highsmith back. Even with Herbig, he is still a young player with limitations. But there’s a reason the Steelers signed Highsmith to an extension a few years ago.
With the Giants in a loss, Highsmith would be even luckier to return now since he will be playing in two weeks. But first he’ll have to meet Tyron Smith, who is having just a “good” year by his standards.
As the season progresses, Steelers players’ stock prices rise and fall.. The nature of the assessment varies depending on the time of year, and in-season considerations are often more short-term. Offseason considerations often have broader implications, especially when a player loses a job or a team signs someone. this time of year It’s full of deals.Either minor or major.
Bad games, new contracts, injuries, promotions and many other things affect a player’s value. Think of them as stocks in a speculative market. After a good game, you might feel better about a player, or after a bad game, you might feel worse. Some stock updates will be minor, while others will likely be quite drastic, so keep that in mind. I will do my best to explain its nature in the reasoning section of each column.
