Steelers need Highsmith to fill in for LB Dupree
Bud Dupree stood at the line of scrimmage during a stoppage in play Wednesday against Baltimore and did what the Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker almost always does when there’s a lull in action.
He danced. Minutes later, the relentlessly upbeat Dupree was limping to the sideline, his right knee shredded and his season over. The immediate impact on the NFL’S last unbeaten team was palpable. Perhaps no player felt it more than fellow outside linebacker T. J. Watt. The two have spent the last three seasons evolving into one of the NFL’S best edgerushing duos on the field and close friends off it.
“There’s just so much going on when you hear something like that happen,” Watt said Saturday. “Holy cow, his season could potentially be over, ( he’s) in a contract year, ( he’s having) such a phenomenal year and is such a key player for what we do and who we are as a defense.”
And now he’s gone, the second member of Pittsburgh’s linebacking group to have his season wrecked by a knee injury. Secondyear inside linebacker Devin Bush went down late in a victory over Cleveland in October. Rather than panic, however, the Steelers persevered, handing the majority of the snaps to Robert Spillane, who made the team as a special teams ace but has held his own while replacing a firstround pick.
Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin expects the same from rookie Alex Highsmith. T he Steelers grabbed him in the third round of the draft, viewing him as a potential longterm replacement for Dupree, who is playing this season under a one-year franchise tender and is likely to hit the open market next spring.
Highsmith arrived as a bit of a project after playing most of his career at Charlotte at defensive end. Yet he’s seen his playing time tick up in recent weeks even before Dupree’s injury, including making a tide- turning interception against reigning NFL MVP Lamar Jackson that sparked a comeback victory over the Ravens on Nov. 1.
• Pittsburgh activated defensive end Stephon Tuitt from the reserve/covid-19 list Saturday morning. Tuitt, who was placed on the list Nov. 27.
SEA HAWKS PUT FIRST PLAYER ON COVID LIST >> The Seattle Seahawks placed Bryan Mone on the Reserve/covid-19 list on Saturday, making the injured defensive tackle the first Seattle player to land on the list during the regular season.
Seattle had been the only team in the league to avoid using the list during the regular season.
TOP TITANS PICK OUT FOR RULES VIOLATION >> T he Tennessee Titans have suspended top draft pick Isaiah Wilson for Sunday’s game for violating club rules after already declaring the rookie out against the Cleveland Browns.
Tennessee didn’t specify what Wilson did in placing him on the reserve-suspended list.
FORMER RAIDER BURFICT ARRESTED FOR BATTERY >> Former NFL player Vontaze Burfict (Corona Centennial), a linebacker who in 2019 received the most severe punishment in league history for an on-field infraction, was arrested Saturday in Las Vegas, according to court records.
Online records for Las Vegas Justice Court said Burfict was arrested on a misdemeanor battery charge. Burfict, 30, was released on his own recognizance, according to court records. Burfict was playing for the Oakland Raiders when the NFL on Sept. 30, 2019, suspended him five games for a helmet-tohelmet hit on Indianapolis Colts tight end Jack Doyle.