Steelers GM Omar Khan Explains Strategy Behind The Alex Highsmith Restructure: "Opportunity To Upgrade"

The Pittsburgh Steelers announced during the offseason (just before the 2024 NFL Draft), that they restructured edge rusher Alex Highsmith's contract to free up some cap space. Highsmith, who is entering his fifth year with the Steelers, signed a four-year extension with the team. According to Ian Rapoport, Highsmith was set to make a base salary of $10.733 million, and the team converted some of that into a signing bonus, which gave them more than $7 million in extra cap space. 

This immediately set the internet on fire, and speculation ran wild regarding who the Steelers planned to spend that money on. The desire for another solid wide receiver had names like Brandon Aiyuk and Courtland Sutton swirling about. However, the team didn't trade for any big names at that position. That changed the question from who, to why. Why did General Manager Omar Khan free up that cap space to not even use it?

Recently, Khan joined the The PM Team w/Poni & Mueller, and hosts Andrew Fillipponi and Chris Mueller asked him about the restructuring of Highsmith's contract. He told them it wasn't because they were targeting a specific player. It was just a matter of being prepared. 

"I've had some experience with the cap in the past. It just gave us an opportunity to just kind of be in a position in case an opportunity to upgrade came," said Khan. "To be honest, just to be in a position to do something. If there's an opportunity to upgrade the club, that's worth us looking at and doing something with, I just wanted to be in position to do it if something came about. Obviously, it did not come about."

He added that at times, these opportunities happen very quickly. One general manager calls another, or an agent calls, and someone is available. He said his goal is to keep working to make the team better by improving the roster. Khan said not much is worse than having to turn down a great opportunity because you do not have the cap space to make it happen. 

As for where that money is now, the Steelers are like the Boy Scouts, always prepared. Khan said they are still sitting on it, waiting for the right player. He said they "haven't done much to get rid of it," so they will be ready if an opportunity comes up between now and the start of the season. 

Steelers Are Happy With Current Wide Receiver Room

The Pittsburgh fans and media are almost entirely united in their belief that the Steelers need to add another strong wide receiver to the roster. There are concerns about George Pickens handling it all by himself or worries that if he gets hurt, the team won't have another reliable wide receiver. 

Currently behind Pickens, the receiver room looks like a bit of a hodgepodge of mid-level players, including Quez Watkins, Van Jefferson, and Calvin Austin III. Not to mention third-round pick, Roman Wilson. While Austin, who is a tremendous speedster, seems to have a lot of potential, he still remains unproven as of yet. 

Khan told Fillipponi and Mueller that he and the coaches, including Head Coach Mike Tomlin, are happy with the group. He said they liked what they saw from them at minicamp and have no concerns. Of course, what else is he going to say? It is hard to imagine Khan admitting they are possibly freaking out. 

Aiyuk is still on the table as negotiations with him and the San Francisco 49ers continue. There are those who believe the Steelers will bring someone in during training camp once all of the contract dust on other teams starts to settle. It also remains to be seen if the Steelers can pay Aiyuk enough, when his current team, the 49ers, apparently will not. 

What do you think about Khan's comment about the salary cap? Click to comment below. 

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