Five Teams Steelers Can Trade T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith To
PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Steelers inked edge rusher Nick Herbig to a four-year contract worth $100 million, finalizing their first major extension of the offseason.
Now, the question becomes, what do they do with their outside linebacker room? Before the deal, all four were expected to be kept, with T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith leading the group and Herbig and Jack Sawyer coming off the bench.
That may change. Paying a player $100 million means you're going to play him. The Steelers see the upside in Herbig and want him to be their next superstar. Which might mean they're going to trade either of their stars in front of him.
If they do decide to move on from Watt or Highsmith this offseason, there are five teams they can probably call for a deal.
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are entering their Super Bowl window. They have Caleb Williams, an exciting head coach in Ben Johnson and some dominant offensive players who are just finding their groove at the NFL level.
Plus, they have key pieces on defense as well. But what they could use is another elite pass rusher. With Josh Sweat on one side, maybe Chicago tries to add another player opposite of him. Watt or Highsmith would make a ton of sense for the Bears, who may be willing to pay a little extra to make sure their defense is as good as their young offense.
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions have needed an edge rusher opposite of Aidan Hutchinson and will continue to look for one. They understand they need to win now if they're going to win a Super Bowl and Dan Campbell has to be feeling the pressure after last year's disaster of a season.
The Lions may be a few pieces away, but one of them is a pass rusher. Watt and Hutchinson would be the NFL's scariest tandem. Highsmith wouldn't be too far behind. It's about whether or not Detroit is willing to pay a lot for Watt or take a risk that Highsmith is enough.
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots went all-in to go get A.J. Brown, trading a 2028 first-round pick to the Philadelphia Eagles to make sure Drake Maye has a wide receiver. Well, last year, all their defense kept talking about was needing edge rusher help.
Why not Watt or Highsmith? The Patriots are the third team on this list that fit the same narrative - trying to win a Super Bowl. The difference between them and everyone else, though, is that were there last year, which means the feeling is fresh and the expectations are higher than anyone else.
Returning to the mountain top is as difficult a task as there is in the NFL. It's going to take some help. Some edge rusher help.
San Francisco 49ers
The 49ers are already banged up this offseason so they should probably move fast for an edge rusher. Nick Bosa and T.J. Watt would be right up there with Hutchinson and Watt, and Highsmith and Bosa wouldn't be far off, either.
The 49ers have been talking about adding to their edge rusher room for two years now. This offseason feels like the do-or-die year for Kyle Shannahan and if he's going to make anything happen, he needs a dominant defense.
Watt or Highsmith would fit perfeclty in what they're doing.
Dallas Cowboys
Could Mike McCarthy call up his old friend Jerry Jones and work out a deal? "Hey Jerry, I've got an edge rusher for you to replace Micah Parsons." Maybe it works.
The Cowboys made a move with the Steelers last offseason, so why not do it again? If Dak Prescott is going to get them to the promise land in the final stretch of his career, he's going to need a defense. Dallas' was not great last year.
Watt and Highsmith make it a lot better.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/nfl/steelers/onsi as Five Teams Steelers Can Trade T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith To.
Copyright ABG-SI LLC. SPORTS ILLUSTRATED is a registered trademark of ABG-SI LLC. All Rights Reserved.
This story was originally published June 3, 2026 at 3:00 AM.