Steelers: TJ Watt 'Happy' Even as Alex Highsmith Misses Mandatory Practice

The Pittsburgh Steelers are in for an interesting summer after Nick Herbig signed a four-year contract extension worth $100 million on Tuesday.

As Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported on Wednesday, Alex Highsmith, who led the Steelers with 9.5 sacks last season and is playing on a contract that pays $17 million annually, missed Wednesday's practice at mandatory minicamp.

Highsmith had been a consistent presence at OTAs this spring, and it was hard to see his absence for a mandatory practice this week as anything but a message about what the Steelers could lose if he doesn't get a contract extension soon. 

On the other hand, Steelers star pass-rusher T.J. Watt, on a base salary of $32 million per year, is "happy" with the dynamic on defense after Herbig received his extension.

"Oh, we're deep, obviously," Watt said on Wednesday, via the Steelers. "Not just our room, but the defensive front as a whole is really deep, and we really care about each other, too.

"That's the cool thing about this group, we're constantly trying to help each other out. We don't care who makes the plays, we just want to be as successful as we possibly can. We want to work together and just continue to grow. I'm just really happy with how things have started this summer."

Now, the Steelers have to find a way to keep the group altogether through the fall. With Highsmith, Watt and Herbig, Pittsburgh is set to have one of the more deep pass-rushing units in the league, which could help the team push for a playoff spot in Rodgers' final season.

Pittsburgh made a conscious decision to bring back Aaron Rodgers and retain its core group of veterans on defense. In the meantime, cornerback Joey Porter Jr. and linebacker Patrick Queen want new contracts.

There's only so much money to go around.

Per Over the Cap, the Steelers have $4.2 million in cap space this offseason and $41 million for 2027. 

Eventually, the Steelers are going to have to make some tough decisions and begin a rebuild, preferably when they find their next quarterback next season.