Here we go again with the rumors concerning the Pittsburgh Steelers possibly trading for a big-name wide receiver. You know the names by now, right? Brandon Aiyuk and Tee Higgins are the two wide receivers that the rumors persist about when it comes to the Steelers and a possible trade. Here’s the thing, however. Based on the Steelers’ current salary cap situation, it will be easy to tell if such a trade is on the way.
Currently, the Steelers have just $12,005,998 in available 2024 salary cap space and that’s not enough to accommodate a trade for either Aiyuk or Higgins. Aiyuk, thanks to his fifth-year option being picked up last offseason by the San Francisco 49ers, currently has a 2024 salary cap charge of $14.124 million. As for Higgins, who was given the franchise tag earlier this offseason by the Cincinnati Bengals, his current 2024 salary cap charge is a whopping $21.816 million.
The Steelers would need to accommodate either of those two cap amounts before signing the one they acquire to a contract extension, which would then in turn lower the player’s salary cap charge. Could they pull that off? Sure, they could, and that’s why we would likely see the signs beforehand as a restructuring would likely need to happen before the trade was made official.
As things stand right now, Steelers OLB Alex Highsmith would be the likeliest candidate to have his contract restructured this offseason to free up salary cap space. Such a full restructuring would free up $7.206 million in 2024 salary cap space. Why is Highsmith the likeliest candidate? Because he has the freshest big deal on the books.
Behind Highsmith in the restructuring line would likely be S Minkah Fitzpatrick. A full restructuring of his contract would free up $8,916,667 in 2024 salary cap space. It should be noted, however, that the Steelers restructured Fitzpatrick’s contract last offseason, so they’ll want a good reason to do so again a second consecutive year.
Could the Steelers cut a player to make room for Aiyuk, for example? Sure, but who? S Damontae Kazee, perhaps? Cutting Kazee would make it super close if it were a tit for tat move. ILB Cole Holcomb, possibly? That would do the trick, but just barely. Once again, we would see the signs.
I wrote earlier in the offseason about the plausibility of the Steelers possibly trading for Aiyuk and that was way back when they still had plenty of cap space to accommodate his 2024 number before an extension was to happen. Yes, that plausibility still exists right now, but it’s just a bit messier now than before with available salary cap space being a bit of a hurdle.
Beyond the salary cap space issue, which obviously can be overcome, I think most still forget about what would need to happen after a trade for Aiyuk or Higgins took place. A contract extension and a very lucrative one at that.
Based on all of the contract rumblings that have seemingly surrounded both Aiyuk and Higgins so far this offseason, it’s hard to imagine either settling for an extension with a new money average of less than $25 million. Some argue that both might be angling to equal or better the new money average of Miami Dolphins WR Tyreek Hill, who is currently the highest paid at his position in the NFL at $30 million. Anything more than a $28,002,750 million new money average would make either Aiyuk or Higgins the highest-paid player on the Steelers. Talk about a news story if that happened.
The other thing related to a new contract for either Aiyuk or Higgins post-trade acquisition that is important to consider is the fully guaranteed money aspect. You can bet both players will be looking for fully guaranteed money beyond 2024. Why wouldn’t they be? Either one of them getting full guarantees from the Steelers past 2024 would be yet another huge news story, especially with both not being homegrown products within the organization. Could the Steelers do it? Absolutely, but once again, we’re talking about a huge shift in precedent if they were to do so.
Oh, and bet your last dollar that the Steelers would want the details of a contract extension worked out with whichever player they were to acquire of the two before such a trade is made official.
Aiyuk has recently turned to the next page in the disgruntled wide receiver handbook as he has reportedly unfollowed the 49ers on some social media accounts. That lone move seems to be what has the internet rumors concerning him possibly being traded heated way back up again.
49ers GM John Lynch seemed to brush off the idea that Aiyuk could or would be traded several weeks ago. He held the company line that the 49ers want to keep Aiyuk and thus the two sides would continue to try to get a deal done. Just general manager-speak? Sure, maybe. Obviously, things aren’t happening quick enough for Aiyuk and the same can probably be said about Higgins as well. There’s more of a deadline with Higgins, however, due to him now wearing the franchise tag. The deadline for a new deal for him is July 15, by the way. Oh, and the Bengals trading him within the AFC North division to the Steelers would be such a huge news story in and of itself.
Are you looking for something positive to hang on to when it comes to maybe the Steelers ultimately trading for either Aiyuk or Higgins? Well, the only thing I can provide along those lines would be related to the Steelers’ cash spending so far this offseason. It seems to be lower than expected with less than two weeks to go until the 2024 NFL Draft. In short, if the Steelers really wanted to loosen up some cap space in a hurry and trade for either Aiyuk or Higgins and then sign the one they acquire to a very lucrative contract extension, from a cash-spending perspective, it’s certainly plausible.
In closing, yes, a trade for either Aiyuk or Higgins is still plausible from all angles. Trades are really always plausible, however, thanks to the way the salary cap can be manipulated with restructurings and terminations. If a team wants a player bad enough, they can usually always find a way to acquire him, assuming he is acquirable. That said, a little more work would need to be done to acquire either Aiyuk or Higgins as opposed to several weeks ago when the first rumors hit concerning the Steelers possibly trading for one of the two.
While I would certainly welcome the Steelers trading for either Aiyuk or Higgins, and really, not many wouldn’t have that frame of mine at this point, I feel that’s a little more unlikely to happen now as opposed to several weeks ago. Stranger things have happened, however, and it’s been a crazy offseason already with wide receivers being traded. Rest assured; however, we’ll likely see some visible signs as far as cap movement goes on the Steelers’ side if indeed a deal for one of those two winds up officially happening.
