Steelers Now
The Pittsburgh Steelers made sure Nick Herbig is going to stay around for a while, officially signing him to a five-year deal on Wednesday. With a lot of money tied up at his position — with T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith also in the outside linebacker room — many are curious what it means for the other guys.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport cleared the air, for this upcoming season, at least, on Thursday.
“As soon as it became clear that Herbig was gonna get a deal, it was like, ‘Hold on, they have so much money on the edge. What are they gonna do with T.J.? What are they gonna do with Highsmith?'” Rapoport said on “The Pat McAfee Show.” “My sense this year is nothing. I don’t get the sense Highsmith is going anywhere. … T.J. Watt is not going anywhere this year. He is not. He is gonna play for the Pittsburgh Steelers.”
However, after this campaign, Rapoport believes that one of the two guys could be shipped away. Although Watt, the Steelers’ all-time leading sack-getter, is a cornerstone of the franchise, his contemporary, Myles Garrett was sent to the Los Angeles Rams earlier this week after nine fabled go-rounds with the Cleveland Browns.
“Now, after this year, I would imagine they have a decision to make one way or the other,” Rapoport said of Watt and Highsmith. “T.J. Watt’s contract is enormous. He has been a one helmet player. I would say every one helmet player, you’d sort of like them to stay in the uniform, but we have learned — as we did this past week — that there is a price for everyone, so we’ll see where that goes.”
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Insider Makes Telling Call on Futures of T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith
