Mark Kaboly shut down the idea of the Pittsburgh Steelers trading Alex Highsmith on Monday morning, saying he would not even take the call. With the Nov. 10 trade deadline closing in, that was the clearest public pushback yet against the latest round of Alex Highsmith trade rumors Steelers fans have been hearing again.
The reason the question keeps coming back is simple: Highsmith is playing well enough to matter and the Steelers are winning enough to resist temptation. Through eight games, he has 3.5 sacks and 26 pressures, production that keeps him in the middle of Pittsburgh’s pass rush while the team sits 6-2 and still looks like a contender. That is why the idea of moving him is drawing attention now, not in the spring.
Kaboly made his position plain on 93.7 The Fan’s Morning Show, saying, “I’d hang up so quickly” and, “I would not entertain anything with him.” He added, “Right now, you have to say they are a contender, so why would you try to get rid of one of your better players?” That logic matters because trading Highsmith would immediately weaken a defense that already leans on its edge rush to hold up through the second half.
This is not the first time Highsmith has landed in trade chatter. His name was already popular on the offseason market after Nick Herbig signed his $100 million extension with the Pittsburgh Steelers in June, and the speculation surfaced again ahead of next week’s deadline. The current frame is bigger than one player, though. The Steelers are being treated as contenders, they have a manageable second-half schedule after the bye week, and Aaron Rodgers is retiring after this season, which gives every roster decision extra weight.
Tom Pelissero said Highsmith will be the subject of trade calls from now until the deadline, and that keeps the question alive even after Kaboly’s answer. The gap is no longer whether the name will come up. It is whether anyone can make a serious offer large enough to force the Pittsburgh Steelers to consider moving one of their better defensive players before Nov. 10.
