The Pittsburgh Steelers have been throwing money around in the previous week. They made a few signings to add veteran depth to the team, but they also spent $142 million in extension money. Darnell Washington and Nick Herbig both received lucrative four-year deals to keep them around long-term. Both seemed very risky at first due to them not being at the top of the depth chart, but in the end, they should be key contributors for a while to come. Pittsburgh isn't even done with extension negotiations either.
Justin Guido / Post-Gazette
Steelers' tight end Darnell Washington rumbling over Bills defenders during 2025 regular season game.
However, the Herbig deal did spark some controversy. After he signed, fellow edge rusher Alex Highsmith was not present for the rest of mandatory minicamp. Steelers PR man Burt Lauten said that he was out with an illness, but the coincidence did not sit well with the fans, as it looked like Highsmith was upset that his backup was getting paid significantly more than him and began a hold-out.
Sources: Alex Highsmith is not present today at practice due to an illness but will continue to be at the practice facility as he has been all offseason. Confirmed by me. https://t.co/8n4sHF1awT
— Burt Lauten (@SteelersPRBurt) June 3, 2026
During the final week of Organized Team Activities (OTAs), the truth was revealed. As Tim Benz noted, photographer Taylor Ollason snapped a picture of Highsmith on the practice field on Monday, showing that he is working and not holding out. Lauten and the Steelers were seemingly right. There was no conspiracy or hold-out caused by Herbig's new deal. It was just a poorly-time illness that made everything look bad.
The biggest hint to this being the case was how out-of-character it would have been for Highsmith to just rage-quit the team in the middle of the week. He is usually one of the quietest, least controversial players in the entire NFL, let along in Pittsburgh.
Associated Press
Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker and edge rusher Alex Highsmith on the sidelines during a 2022 NFL game on the road.
The other side of that argument is the idea that money talks. It could have been a whole plan set up by his agent to have him storm out of the building on Wednesday in an effort to get a massive pay raise.
Steelers Will Likely Only Have Highsmith Around For One More Year
Herbig's extension does not take effect until 2027, so the Steelers can afford to have all three elite edge rushers on the team. In 2027, however, it's hard to imagine all of them sticking around again. Of course, the former fourth-round pick just got paid, so he's likely going to stay. This becomes a question of which of the starters would end up getting moved to bring in more draft capital: Highsmith, or All-Pro edge rusher TJ Watt.
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Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebackers Alex Highsmith (56) and TJ Watt (90) during 2025 training camp in Latrobe, PA.
Meanwhile, trading Highsmith would result in a lot less of a dead cap hit than if Watt got dealt. Once again, money talks, and the Steelers wouldn't want to have a $20 million hit when that could be spent on a quality starter at multiple positions. On top of that, Watt's age would likely result in teams giving Pittsburgh a ton of low-ball offers, especially after possibly his worst NFL season so far in 2025.
Highsmith is still in his prime. He's not too expensive, not too old, and a high-character guy -- beloved by many. He could end up getting traded for at least a Day 2 pick and likely more. Shipping him off to another team wouldn't be an insult, but it does feel like a needed move to help pay players at other positions eventually. A lot of those younger offensive linemen will be looking for massive extensions themselves.
What do you think about Highsmith reporting for practice after missing time in mandatory minicamp? Let us know on X at @Steelers_ChrisB. Follow us for more news!
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