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Two years after TJ Watt became the highest-paid defensive player in NFL history, the Steelers rewarded fellow pass rusher Watts with a lucrative deal of his own, signing Alex Highsmith on Wednesday to a four-year, $68 million extension. . according to CBS Sports Senior NFL Insider Jonathan Jones.
The deal makes Highsmith one of the NFL’s top 10 edge rushers in terms of average annual value ($17 million), ahead of veterans such as Emmanuel Ogbah ($16.35 million), Haason Reddick ($15 million) and Trey Hendrickson ($15 million). Per Jones, more than $27.7 million, or about 40% of the new deal, has already been guaranteed.
Highsmith, who turns 26 in August, is coming off a breakaway season alongside and replacing Watt, who missed seven games due to injury. Originally a third-round pick from Charlotte in 2020, he had a career-high 14.5 sacks and 20 quarterback hits in 2022 to help the Steelers maintain a top-10 scoring defense. The year before, Highsmith was also busy as a full-timer, with six sacks to go with 15 QB hits and 15 tackles for loss.
Expanding Highsmith at such a rate will make the Steelers the third NFL team to deploy two different pass rushers with top-10 annual earnings to their position. Paying a combined $45 million a year for Watt and Highsmith, they are joined by the Chargers (Joey Bosa, Khalil Mack) and Raiders (Maxx Crosby, Chandler Jones) as teams that commit at least $17 million a year to multiple edge starters.
Highsmith had anticipated a new deal with Pittsburgh, tell reporters this spring he was confident the two sides would reach an extension ahead of the 2023 campaign.
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