Dallas eyes Alex Highsmith's pass-rushing prowess. Could a trade unlock the defense's true potential and fulfill Jerry's budget-busting promise?
FRISCO - My biggest worry about the Dallas Cowboys' pledge to "bust the budget'' in building the 2026 roster?
That it's a fudge. A half-truth. And yet another public sales pitch from marketing-minded owner Jerry Jones.
Indeed, I'm about ready to predict that the team's recent additions of defensive starters Rashad Gary and Jalen Thompson (neither of them on cheap contracts) represent Jerry's "bust-the-budget'' vision ...
And furthermore, that once Dallas secures deals with George Pickens and Brandon Aubrey (which the Cowboys will do, right?), Jerry will announce that paying his returning stars is the biggest "budget-buster'' of all.
And I get it. Pickens, even if he's stuck on the tag, is a $27.3 million investment. And Aubrey seems destined to become the highest-paid kicker ever, as Dallas has already offered him "near'' $7 million APY.
But you - and new defensive coordinator Christian Parker - need another move for this "3-4 Hybrid'' scheme of a defense that in 2025 was a league-worst unit.
And you don't need it to involve a financial boondoggle; you need it to involve a gifted player.
I broke the story in this space of the Minnesota Vikings' pass-rusher Jonathan Greenard being in play. That's one idea.
Here's another: 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.”
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 for what it's worth, would make Jerry Jones look like he was telling the truth about "busting'' his way toward that goal.