There will be no hold-ins when the Pittsburgh Steelers begin training camp next week at Saint Vincent College. That was assured on Wednesday, when fourth-year outside linebacker Alex Highsmith was rewarded with a four-year extension that is worth up to $68 million, making the former third-round pick one of the league’s highest-paid pass rushers.
Highsmith, who turns 26 in August, is coming off a breakout 2022 campaign that saw him register 14.5 sacks, 15 tackles for loss and a league-best five forced fumbles. Highsmith’s production last season was more impressive considering that a large portion of it was done with fellow pass rusher T.J. Watt sidelined with an injury. Watt, despite the injury, earned his fifth consecutive Pro Bowl appearance one year after being named Defensive Player of the Year in 2021 after tying Michael Strahan’s NFL single-season record of 22.5 sacks.
By extending Highsmith, the Steelers have locked up both of their starting pass rushers for the foreseeable future. Highsmith is now signed through the 2028 season, while Watt’s current deal (which was inked two summers ago) runs through the 2025 campaign. During that time, the duo will have the opportunity to climb up the following list of the best pass-rushing duos in Steelers history, a list that includes several Hall of Fame players.
1. Greg Lloyd and Kevin Greene (1993-95)
Lloyd and Greene were the anchor of the Steelers’ famed 1990s “Blitzburgh” defense. During their three seasons together, the Steelers boasted one of the NFL’s top defenses that spearheaded Pittsburgh to consecutive AFC Central division titles, back-to-back AFC Championship game appearances and a near upset of the heavily favored Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl XXX.
The intimidating Lloyd was named an All-Pro during each of his three seasons playing alongside Greene. He also led the NFL in forced fumbles twice during that span. Greene, a 2016 Hall of Fame inductee, was named to two Pro Bowls and earned All-Pro honors in 1994 after leading the NFL with 14 sacks while playing with Lloyd, who would also be in the Hall of Fame if not for a career-altering injury he suffered at the start of the ’96 season.
2. James Harrison and LaMarr Woodley (2007-13)
There wasn’t a better pass-rushing duo in the NFL during late 2000s/early 2010s. From 2008-11, Harrison and Woodley combined to record 88.5 sacks in the regular season and an additional 16 sacks in the postseason. Woodley tallied 11 playoff sacks during that span, including six sacks during Pittsburgh’s 2008 playoff run that culminated with his game-clinching strip-sack of Kurt Warner at the end of Super Bowl XLIII. Harrison, the league’s Defensive Player of the Year that season, made history earlier that night when he recorded the longest pick-six in Super Bowl history.
3. L.C. Greenwood and Dwight White (1971-80)
More recent Steelers defenses have leaned on their outside backers to provide a pass rush, but in the 1970s, that task was placed on defensive ends Greenwood and White. Half of the Steelers’ famed “Steel Curtain” defensive line (Joe Greene and Ernie Holmes made up the other half), White and Greenwood were integral forces on each of Pittsburgh’s four Super Bowl wins during the ’70s.
White, despite losing nearly 20 pounds with pneumonia, played and recorded the first safety in Super Bowl history during Pittsburgh’s win over the Vikings in Super Bowl IX. Greenwood deflected three of Fran Tarkenton’s passes that day as the Steelers’ defense shut out the Vikings’ offense. A year later, the duo sacked Roger Staubach a combined six times in Pittsburgh’s Super Bowl X win over Dallas.
4. Joey Porter and Jason Gildon (1999-03)
Many forget that Porter and Gildon played together during vastly different times in both players’ careers. Porter was just beginning his career when Gildon was in the middle of his prime after spending several years playing behind Lloyd and Greene.
During their five seasons together, Porter and Gildon combined for 74.5 quarterback sacks. They had a combined 23.5 sacks in 2000 while leading a Steelers defense that recorded two shutouts and allowed just 18 points over a five-game span. The duo had a combined 21 sacks the following season to help lead Pittsburgh to within a game of the Super Bowl.
Gildon left the Steelers as the franchise’s all-time sack leader. Porter later served as one of the key players in Pittsburgh’s 2005 Super Bowl run.
5. T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith (2000-present)
While they’re currently taking up the rear, Watt and Highsmith have plenty of time to soar up this list. That should happen, as long as Watt — whose career trajectory is currently trending toward a gold jacket and bronze bust in Canton, Ohio — continues to dominate and Highsmith is able to build off last year’s success.
Along with individual success, postseason success will be a significant factor in determining how much this duo moves up the list in the coming years. Helping deliver the Steelers’ seventh Vince Lombardi Trophy would undoubtedly help Watt and Highsmith in their case as the franchise’s greatest pass-rushing duo when it’s all said and done.
Go to Source
Author: Bryan DeArdo
July 19, 2023 | 4:29 pm
