Insider Names Two Players Steelers Aren't Interested In Trading Despite Hot Rumors

The Pittsburgh Steelers have some tough decisions to make in the upcoming free agency period beginning in March. The team will have to decide the futures of some of the players on the active roster, and may be forced to make some truly hard decisions on players that they might like, but be forced to part ways with regardless.

Some of these players that the team could be forced to part with include players that not many would foresee being traded or let go. On top of this, some of these players are considered fan favorites and would make plenty of Steelers fans upset to see them go. As the Steelers look ahead to the 2026 NFL Draft, they're expected to hold 12 picks, which many believe won't all be used. The team could likely trade some of these picks away to acquire a superstar player, or they could look to use these picks to bolster their selections in future drafts. 

Insider Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette recently gave his opinion on what the team's potential plans could be regarding possible trades to acquire more picks. He was asked whether or not the team would have any interest in trading one of their outside linebackers, Alex Highsmith or Nick Herbig. Both players had a great season with the Steelers in 2025, and fans theorized that one of the two could end up garnering significant capital.

"I don't think they have any interest in trading those two OLBs," Dulac wrote. "That's why I leave that up to you guys to figure it out."

Dulac's answer to the question seems to indicate that someone in that linebacker room might end up garnering attention in a potential trade. Dulac had specifically ruled out Highsmith and Herbig in his answer, but left the door open for another linebacker in the room to potentially be moved.

While it seems that the odds of a trade like this would be very low, the Steelers could be looking to ship superstar linebacker TJ Watt off, despite strong belief that the team will look to keep him around at all costs. Watt's cap hit would be a difficult sell for any team looking to trade for him, and the Steelers likely wouldn't be getting the return they would desire for him versus if they tried to do this a year or two ago. Even so, Dulac's comments could insinuate that the team is far more open to options than people believe.

In the very likely scenario the team keeps Watt around, Dulac's comment could also be insinuating that they want to keep the linebacker room together as much as possible. The Steelers have an incredibly deep outside linebacker room, and losing any of them would hurt the overall impact of the defense. 

No matter what the Steelers choose to do, they have an excellent opportunity with the players currently in-house. The room is poised to have a bright future as long as the Steelers can build around their star players. Dulac's comments seem to point towards the idea that the Steelers are looking into keeping the group together, unless they get an offer for Watt that is significant enough to warrant accepting it.

Steelers Should Prioritize Building Around Nick Herbig And Alex Highsmith

With how much of an impact that Highsmith and Herbig have made in their time with the Steelers, it would stand to reason that any of the draft capital that the team attains with a potential trade should go to improving the defense. They have a great opportunity to make both Highsmith and Herbig the future of the Steelers, and building around them with attained draft capital is the best way they can do so.

What did you think about Dulac's comment about the Steelers potentially trading away one of the linebackers?

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