Steelers Add Cap Space Before NFL Draft

The Pittsburgh Steelers restructured Alex Highsmith's deal to add some spending money.

Sep 18, 2023; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Alex Highsmith (56) / Philip G. Pavely-USA TODAY Sports

PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Steelers have added some cap space ahead of the 2024 NFL Draft, restructuring outside linebacker Alex Highsmith's contract, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.

Highsmith signed a four-year, $68 million deal with the Steelers last summer, keeping the edge rusher in town with T.J. Watt. Entering the first year of his new deal, Highsmith was set to make $13.93 million, with a $10.7 million base salary and a $3.2 million bonus. Pittsburgh will now rework that deal to add more to his signing bonus and free up roughly $7 million in cap space.

The #Steelers have done a simple restructure of the salary of pass-rusher Alex Highsmith to create more than $7M in salary cap space, source said. A little breathing room.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 24, 2024

The Steelers had roughly $11 million heading into the NFL Draft and will now boost that number to just over $18 million. With $10 million going toward their draft picks, the team has $8 million available to spend on free agents or a trade.

The Steelers still have options to add more spending money if needed. T.J. Watt and Minkah Fitzpatrick could be options as contract restructures, and Cam Heyward is an name they could extend before the season, spacing out his cap hit.

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