If the rumors of the Pittsburgh Steelers looking to trade for San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk needed a little more stoking, this might be it. According to NFL Network reporter Ian Rapoport, the Steelers have restructured the contract of edge defender Alex Highsmith, freeing up $7 million in salary cap space.
Rapoport noted it is a simple restructure meaning they are simply converting base salary into bonus. There’s no pay cut involved and it is simply pushing that base salary down the road in the contract.
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
We love some good speculation and it’s hard to see Pittsburgh free up this kind of money if it isn’t to add a veteran piece in a trade. Aiyuk as well as Denver Broncos wide receiver Courtland Sutton have both been mentioned in reports as potential targets for the Steelers after trading away Diontae Johnson.
