Price Tag For Steelers' Alex Highsmith Revealed Which Could Seriously Tempt Omar Khan

When the Pittsburgh Steelers decided to throw a ton of money in the direction of edge rusher Nick Herbig on Tuesday, things got very interesting. It makes sense due to the fact that the organization is now investing somewhere in the ballpark of $90 million annually to one positional group. The more fascinating part of the situation is the playing time and how it will be distributed. Both TJ Watt and Alex Highsmith are not going to want stand on the sideline. The new coaching staff in the Steel City has a tough challenge ahead. That is, unless the front office trades someone in the coming months,

Watt's contract is a little bit too hefty to get rid of right now as the 2026 campaign approaches. Highsmith, on the other hand, is already starting to generate some trade buzz. He is set to be with the Steelers through the 2027 season, but that might change quickly if another franchise sees the Herbig extension as an opportunity to land someone of Highsmith's caliber.

This is the big topic that everyone in the media wants to discuss regarding Pittsburgh right now, especially after Tuesday's big extension news. Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is around the team all the time and joined The Fan Morning Show on Wednesday. The beat writer went into detail about why it makes sense to shed off Highsmith's contract now, as opposed to 2027.

"If it's me, and I'm the GM, I would probably trade him now because I think you would get more for him now, rather than trading him with one year left on a contract, as opposed to two," Fittipaldo said.

When asked about the potential return in a trade, Fittipaldo thought about it for a second, but put some compensation out there that would be more than acceptable if the Steelers shopped the edge rusher.

"You know, I think, what, a second-round pick would be fair," Fittipaldo noted. "I don't know if you guys have already discussed this, but it's a very reasonable contract. I mean, the contract that he signed, I think, five years, 70 million [dollars], so he's averaging like 14 and a half million a year. He's a really really good football player."

This noise isn't likely to settle down unless the organization comes out and directly says that no edge rushers are available for trade. Even then, it is hard to predict exactly what general manager Omar Khan is going to do. With the expected 2027 quarterback class, it would be slightly foolish not to accept a second-rounder for Highsmith in return.

For now, mandatory minicamp is off and running. Pittsburgh made a pretty surprising trade in late June of 2025 when Minkah Fitzpatrick was dealt and Jalen Ramsey was acquired. There's no way to know if the front office for the Steelers is or isn't considering something similar for 2026. Highsmith could be a hot commodity if put on the trade block.

The franchise played the compensatory pick game for 2026 and ended up with 12 total draft selections. The quarterback class did not turn out to be as stout as everyone thought it would be, so it didn't work out to the fullest. Now, the Steelers could be hunting for some extra capital to a least have the option to make a big move up the board in April of 2027.

Steelers Likely Wouldn't Pass Up A Second-Round Pick For Highsmith

As well as he has played, Highsmith has still gone through some injury issues throughout his career. If another team were to come calling and offer a second-round selection, regardless of where that pick is projected to be, Khan would be silly not to entertain, and eventually accept it. Herbig seems to be the focus of the future for now, so the Steelers probably aren't going to hang up the phone if some organizations have interest in Highsmith.

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