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Pittsburgh Steelers edge rusher Alex Highsmith explained why it's so important for the team's veterans to attend offseason workouts.
The Detroit Lions remain at the top of NFL conversations regarding teams in the market to add a pass-rusher in free agency, and the same is true of the trade market.
ESPN’s Bill Barnwell recently lamented for Detroit the Lions missing out on superstar Myles Garrett, though Barnwell acknowledged the team didn’t have a player like former Los Angeles Rams defensive end Jared Verse to send back in the deal, which proved a key selling point for the Cleveland Browns.
The same is not true of Raiders five-time Pro Bowler Maxx Crosby, as Las Vegas already traded him for two first-round picks before the Baltimore Ravens backed out of that deal at the 11th hour earlier this offseason. But it doesn’t appear as though the Lions have an appetite to swing that big on an elite-level edge-rusher to play opposite superstar Aidan Hutchinson.
However, Detroit might find a player like Alex Highsmith of the Pittsburgh Steelers more palatable at the price of a third-round pick, and potentially a little bit more. On the Friday, June 5 edition of his podcast, Barnwell mentioned Highsmith as a potential trade candidate heading into summer training camps.
“[Highsmith is] a player who is sort of in the prime, maybe sort of coming to the point where he will be exiting his prime in the next year or two,” Barnwell explained. “And he does not have much time left in his contract, and the money he has left is not guaranteed, so there is a lot of flexibility with Alex Highsmith that is not necessarily there with TJ Watt.”
Alex Highsmith Most Likely Trade Candidate From Steelers’ Pass-Rush Group
GettyPittsburgh Steelers pass-rusher Alex Highsmith.
Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report on Monday, June 22 floated a Highsmith trade for the price of a conditional third-round pick and a veteran player, naming the Lions as among the top potential suitors.
Highsmith is signed for two more years, and he’s about to be on the pricier side for Pittsburgh with cap hits above $20 million in 2026 and 2027. Now that June 1 has passed, the Steelers could save $14.5 million in 2026 cap space by trading him.
The Steelers could also be willing to part with Highsmith after locking up fellow edge-rusher Nick Herbig with a four-year, $100 million extension. … [But] for Pittsburgh, Highsmith is the most sensible trade candidate.
Barnwell noted that the Steelers probably won’t be in any rush to move Highsmith, even if that is ultimately the plan, which means the trade timeline begins essentially now and could run all the way through the mid-season deadline in early November.
Highsmith turns 29 years old in August and inked a four-year contract extension worth $68 million with Pittsburgh in July 2023.
Other NFC North Teams Besides Lions Could Make Sense as Trade Suitors for Alex Highsmith
Other teams could potentially get in the mix for Highsmith, including all of the Lions’ opponents inside the NFC North Division.
The Chicago Bears probably make the most sense outside of Detroit as a landing spot for Highsmith, given the team’s uncertainty around second-year player Shemar Turner following just 75 snaps played during his rookie year and the potential they might release Dayo Odeyingbo next spring if he doesn’t bounce back strongly from an ACL tear.
Both the Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings could also use another edge-rusher, though they profile as defenses hunting situational veteran depth at the position on shorter-term deals.
Max Dible covers the NFL, NBA and MLB for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, Chicago Bears and Cleveland Browns. He covered local and statewide news as a reporter for West Hawaii Today and served as news director for BigIslandNow.com and Pacific Media Group's family of Big Island radio stations before joining Heavy. More about Max Dible