We have reached the point of the year on the football calendar where news starts to pick back up. Training camp is right around the corner and certain players could see their contract status with the team be re-upped. It has been a rather boring couple of months since the draft ended, even though minicamp did give fans a taste of what was to come.
Omar Khan has been busy this offseason and he is determined to keep the good players on this roster around for years to come. He proved that again today with the Alex Highsmith deal after inking Minkah Fitzpatrick last year around this time too. Normally keeping a good player on your team is all positive, but the most recent Highsmith extension has gotten some mixed reviews.
Steelers re-sign Alex Highsmith to a new five-year contract worth near $70 million
News broke earlier today that star pass rusher Alex Highsmith would be re-signing with the Steelers on a five-year deal worth around $70 million. He has been a great story to watch develop ever since he was chosen in the third round of the 2020 NFL draft. He was able to grow his role from a third outside linebacker to a starter.
Showing a constant sign of improvement is something that is never easy in the NFL, but Highsmith has been able to accomplish that. His best season was last year as he showed that he could be a guy that applies pressure even without T.J. Watt in the lineup. His performance last year made him more of a piece that needed to be re-signed by the organization.
One concern could be Highsmith becoming another version of Bud Dupree
One issue that many are still concerned about is the potential of Highsmith becoming a repeat situation of what happened to Bud Dupree. There are a lot of differences in their stories to this point in their careers, but the concerns are valid to some extent. Dupree was a first-round pick of the Steelers and took a couple of years before he started to produce.
Most labeled that as the Watt effect as he only started to put up numbers once Watt joined the team. Dupree would have an outstanding last season in Pittsburgh before it ended in abrupt fashion to a knee injury. He would sign a massive deal with the Tennessee Titans but would never live up to that deal with his lack of production there.
One thing that can make those that worry about this deal regarding Highsmith becoming Dupree is Highsmith produced without Watt. Last season when Watt was out of the lineup, Highsmith was on pace for a season with double digit sacks. He was getting extra attention and was still able to apply pressure on the opposition's quarterback.
The concern is valid as Highsmith was only able to produce at a high-level last year, but that was also his toughest challenge yet. He is a solid player for this defense and rivals Watt's numbers when you compare their numbers at the point of Highsmith's career. Everything could come crumbling down if he is not able to continue the level of play that he had last season, but he should be able to continue that into his prime.
The positive outlook for the Steelers is the production shown without Watt
One thing you cannot deny in the game of football is production, no matter how a player gets it. Highsmith had an amazing performance in 2022 that showed that he can be a solid contributor on defense no matter if Watt is on the field or not. That is something that the unit desperately needs because they seem to crumble when Watt is out of the lineup.
For one reason or another, there is little success for the Steelers as a team when Watt is not able to suit up. Highsmith was able to still produce at a good rate while Watt was away, and the team saw that as an advantage. They need players that can still find ways to produce when Watt is out of the lineup and adjust to their circumstances like Highsmith was able to accomplish.
Last season was a coming out party for Highsmith after two years of a growing role on this club. He was able to produce high numbers that rivaled some of the best pass rushers in the NFL. He did all of that without Watt in the lineup for nearly half the season. Even when Watt returned, he was not at the same level that he is normally at.
Dupree was never able to find different ways to produce without Watt in the lineup and that was a red flag to the black and gold. That is what made him more of an expendable piece for this team. Highsmith has done the opposite despite only having one solid year of production. Now that Watt will be coming back this year with a full bill of healthy, those two should be one of the best tandems in the league.
Despite the hefty price tag, this contract should not affect too many future deals
When it comes to the potential impact of this deal down the line, there should not be too much. Highsmith does come with a hefty price tag, but the NFL is one that focuses on paying quality pass rushers. He is one of the top pass rushers in the NFL since his breakout performance last season which would have got him a pretty penny on the free agency market if he elected to go that route.
Overall, this is seen as a fair deal for both sides that should not affect too much of what the Steelers want to do going forward. When you look at their free agency classes in 2024 and a couple of years beyond, there are not too many issues with potential free agent departures. There are some starters, but none that can't be replaced by some other younger guys.
One of the strong suits presented to people when Khan was hired was his ability to work around the salary cap. Highsmith might carry a large cap number, but there are alternate routes for handling that concern. There are different ways to restructure his deal to lessen his cap hit on the Steelers for years to come if Khan decides to go that route.
One of the best things that are working in Pittsburgh's favor in terms of cap relief is Kenny Pickett. having a quarterback on a rookie deal helps matters, and that should last another four years if he is able to get better and remain a starter. Paying good players will cost a lot of money, but that is something you need to do so you can keep those players around.
In an offensive driven league the Steelers still invest heavily into their defense
Defense wins championships used to be a true statement, but that truth has faded in the past decade of the NFL. Offense is the name of the game now and defenses struggle to contain offensive attacks each week. The Steelers have stuck with a dated approach to the game of football, and it has not worked out too well.
Mike Tomlin likes to play a hard brand of defense that gets after the passer, which leaves a lot of issues in the secondary. He also likes to make the ground and pound run game one of his biggest tools to push the ball down the field. Those ways of thinking of the NFL are over and it will not get you closer to beating some of the top offenses in the league.
Fans have been getting more agitated by this philosophy of football that Tomlin has been implementing since getting here. The franchise has found success with this type of football in the past, but things have changed a lot since the 2000s. Investing heavily in the defense to try and stop the opposition's offense to try and win games is an ongoing concern.
Offense wins nowadays and the Steelers have not seemed to focus on this change of football. They have invested a lot of their cap space into their top defensive stars but have lacked any offensive firepower that has gotten big contracts like their defensive counterparts. Perhaps that has somewhat to do with the offense being young, but it is an issue that has been persisting.