Steelers Injury Updates: Diontae Johnson, Alex Highsmith Leave Practice

LATROBE, Pa. — The Steelers took the field at Latrobe Memorial Stadium on Monday but came out with a laundry list of injuries. Diontae Johnson (hip flexor) left halfway through practice and is working through the soft tissue injury, Then, in team drills, Alex Highsmith (ribs) left the field and returned with a wrap around his ribs. He did not return to the field.

In addition, Kevin Dotson (ankle) and Genard Avery (groin) all suffered injuries in practice and did not return to finish practice. Luckily for the Steelers, it seems that most of these injuries are not too severe. All of those players are being evaluated and Mike Tomlin hopes they are minor injuries.

“We’ll get those guys evaluated and hopefully those can be described as day-to-day, and we’ll continue this process,” Tomlin said.

Meanwhile, Derek Watt (left shoulder) and Ulysees Gilbert III (ankle) are guys that were injured on Saturday and missed practice on Monday. Watt was described as day-to-day while Gilbert’s is likely a long-term injury. Mataeo Durant got his helmet knocked off on one play and did not return after that.

On the return front, Larry Ogunjobi (foot) worked in team periods for the first time in his tenure at training camp. In addition, Tyson Alualiu was activated off the PUP list. While he did not participate in team drills, Alualu worked through individual drills for the first time at training camp.

Pat Freiermuth (hamstring), Chase Claypool (right shoulder), and Miles Killebrew (pec) all were limited participants. Claypool worked through seven shots and some early team drills but did not fully practice just yet. Freiermuth and Killebrew only did individual drills. Najee Harris (foot) worked in individual drills as well but did not participate in team drills. Marcus Allen (hamstring) missed another practice.

Meanwhile, Minkah Fitzpatrick (wrist) ramped up officially and got some serious run in team drills. That included physical stuff off Benny Snell at the goal line. Fitzpatrick looks to be at a full participation level at this point. Cam Sutton (knee) was a full participant after being limited on Saturday. Karl Joseph, who was on paternity leave, also returned to the field and got some valuable reps in the slot.