After signing a four-year extension with the Steelers last week, Alex Highsmith met with reporters on Monday to talk about the contract.
Highsmith’s deal is worth $68 million that guarantees him $27.7 million in the first two years, and it comes on the heels of a prolific third season where he accrued 14-and-a-half sacks, placing him sixth in the NFL. He also tallied 68 tackles, 38 of them solo, and five forced fumbles.
Highsmith said he still has a lot to prove in the NFL, and he wanted to do that with the Steelers.
He also said it was important for the new deal to be finalized prior to the start of training camp.
Another reason Highsmith wanted to re-sign with Pittsburgh was because he knew the team is on the upward trend in terms of on-field performance.
Highsmith has earned the praise of head coach Mike Tomlin, who called him “Robin” to T.J. Watt’s “Batman.” He said Watt and former teammate Bud Dupree taught him everything to know about being a star linebacker in the NFL.
Steelers personnel will head to St. Vincent College in Latrobe Wednesday for training camp.
The public practice schedule
(All practices are free but you must have a mobile ticket, available at Ticketmaster. Public practices are at 1:55 PM with two exceptions, noted below.):
Thursday, July 27
Friday, July 28
Saturday, July 29
Sunday, July 30
Tuesday, Aug. 1
Wednesday, Aug. 2
Thursday, Aug. 3
Friday, Aug. 4, Latrobe Memorial Stadium, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Aug. 5
Sunday, Aug. 6
Tuesday, Aug. 8
Wednesday, Aug. 9
Sunday, Aug. 13
Tuesday, Aug. 15
Wednesday, Aug. 16
Thursday, Aug. 17, 10:30 a.m.
