Dallas eyes a Pro Bowl pass-rusher. A $68 million offer could land Alex Highsmith, instantly elevating their defense and shaping draft strategy.
FRISCO - There are 32 different ways to skin the NFL cat.
So the Dallas Cowboys' need to add a pass-rusher to the roster can be filled by utilizing any number of methods.
The trade for Packers standout Rashad Gary helps.
How about one more move?
That can in theory come in this week's NFL Draft. New defensive coordinator Christian Parker - with his move toward this "3-4 Hybrid'' scheme of a defense that in 2025 was a league-worst unit - will be making a push there.
And with Arvell Reese, David Bailey and Rueben Bain, there are candidates to be taken as top-12 players ... right in Dallas' range, as the Cowboys own picks Nos. 12 and 20 in this draft.
Or ...
What about taking a shot at trading for Alex Highsmith from Pittsburgh?
My “Locked on Cowboys” colleague Marcus Mosher - who knows both the Cowboys and the Steelers rosters well - suggests that the Steelers may be overloaded on the edge with T.J. Watt, Nick Herbig and Highsmith.
Does that make Highsmith - who despite some injury issues last year managed to get 9.5 sacks in 13 games last season - expendable?
Said Mosher: “Alex Highsmith is an awesome player. Nick Herbig is the more explosive player ... He’s only 24 and ... he wants to start, he wants an opportunity to make more money. ...
"Highsmith ... has no guaranteed money left on his ($68 million) contract, and his base salaries are $14 million and $15 million. He is woefully underpaid for how productive he is.
"I think for the Cowboys, Highsmith would be an awesome fit.''
Highsmith, who turns 29 this summer, has a reputation for playing the run in addition to how Mosher characterizes him as someone who "would be instantly the best pass-rusher on the Cowboys.”
There are now rumors out of Pittsburgh that the Steelers will listen to teams wanting to talk about Highsmith and/or Herbig.
The Cowboys got a third-round pick in the trade with the 49ers for Osa Odighizuwa; could that be the key that unlocks the door to one more stud?
This move would totally change the Dallas defense's ceiling and would allow even more "purity'' when it comes to the Cowboys' picks at 12 and 20. ... so our endorsement of at least exploring the Steelers' interest in a swap is a strong one.