Steelers have a clear stance on trading T.J. Watt and other defensive stars

The Pittsburgh Steelers have already gone through a ton of shocking changes and the 2026 offseason is barely underway. All the changes so far have come with the coaching staff as former head coach Mike Tomlin stepped down after his team was eliminated from the postseason, and Mike McCarthy was brought in by the organization to be its next leader. He has flipped most of the staff, and there are a ton of new faces within the building. Now that the group is settled for the most part, it is time for the organization to face some tough realities when it comes to the roster.

There are some obvious cuts for the Steelers to make to free up some cap space, but the franchise will also have to decide on a few extensions. The chances of some bigger contracts being traded also seems fairly high. The biggest cap hit on the roster in 2026 is star outside linebacker T.J. Watt, and some fans have wanted him to be traded as he did not produce like he usually does during the 2025 season after holding out for a large contract extension. It would be a difficult contract to move via trade, and according to insider Mark Kaboly during a recent appearance on 93.7 The Fan on Wednesday, the organization is going to approach Watt the same way it has in recent years.

"I think it's gonna be much the same," Kaboly said. "They're not gonna try to get rid of him. I don't think even if they tried to get rid of him that they would get his market value back for him. I think they still have high belief in him. Maybe he's lost half a step, but I think he still had half a step to lose."

Watt's production dropped off significantly during the 2025 season, but the organization still has a ton of belief in him. His sack numbers were down, but he still made an impact. He picked off multiple passes, forced fumbles and he was still a menace when it came to stopping the run game.

Watt signed a three-year, $123M extension during the 2025 offseason. That contract paired with the recent production from the star will make him hard to trade, especially for any sort of significant value. The franchise wouldn't entertain that idea anyways because it still believes in the former Defensive Player of the Year. Kaboly believes the outside linebacker room is going to look the same, as he doesn't believe Alex Highsmith will be on the move either.

"No, I wouldn't trade Highsmith," Kaboly said. "Man, Highsmith was probably their defensive MVP last year. You don't just jettison Alex Highsmith without having [Nick] Herbig locked up."

A reason to trade either Highsmith or Watt is that Nick Herbig is waiting in the wings, and he has made a ton of plays with limited opportunities. He has proven he deserves to be a starter either in Pittsburgh or elsewhere, and he made it clear during the 2026 offseason that he wants something like that. That doesn't mean he wants to be traded, but it does mean he wants to be treated as a starter.

Steelers have major decision to make with Nick Herbig

Herbig just finished up his third season in the league, which means he is eligible for an extension as he only has one year remaining on his rookie deal. An extension for Herbig should be a priority for Pittsburgh, but it has been hard to carve out a role for him. His market value sits at roughly $14M per year, and Spotrac projects that he will sign a four-year deal worth roughly $55M. It is hard to pay a backup $14M per season, so the Steelers need to figure something out. The easiest way to do things would be parting ways with Highsmith or Watt, but that's easier said than done.