Steelers Expected To Take Calls On LBs Alex Highsmith & Nick Herbig

Charles Robinson of Yahoo! Sports reports that the Steelers will likely take trade calls for linebackers Alex Highsmith and Nick Herbig as the draft approaches.

Robinson adds that the team is likely to deal one, but not both, players, with Highsmith the more likely candidate to be traded. One high-level personnel executive told Robinson, “I think they will trade one of them [between Highsmith and Herbig].”

While Herbig’s name comes up more in trade conversations, Robinson believes Highsmith remains the player more likely to be traded, as Herbig is younger and has not had the chances to show production due to injury.

Highsmith, 28, was a two-year starter at UNC-Charlotte and earned third-team All-American honors in 2019. The Steelers selected him in the third round with the No. 102 pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. 

He was in the final year of a four-year, $4,499,404 contract that included an $832,295 signing bonus and was due a base salary of $2.7 million in 2023 when he signed a four-year, $68 million extension. 

In 2025, Highsmith appeared in and started 13 games for the Steelers, recording 50 tackles, 9.5 sacks, and 1 forced fumble.

We will have more on Highsmith, Herbig, and the Steelers as it becomes available.