Steelers 2-a-days: CB Madre Harper has all the tools; OLB Alex Highsmith due for a contract
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Editor’s note: From the end of minicamp through the day the team reports to training camp at Saint Vincent College, the Trib will be running through the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 90-man roster, assessing each player’s outlook for the 2023 season. The breakdown will go through the roster in mostly alphabetical order, (at least) two per day, between June 16 and July 26. Contract data courtesy spotrac.com.
CB MADRE HARPER
Experience: 12 NFL regular-season games in 2020-21
Contract status: $940,000 cap hit if he makes the team in 2023
2023 outlook: It’s easy to see why the Steelers thought it worth signing Harper in January. He’s 6-foot-1, 196 pounds and has run the 40-yard dash in 4.4 seconds. That might be the prototype at cornerback for the Steelers (at least until they joined the rest of the NFL in the trend of even bigger players, such as the recently drafted Joey Porter Jr. and Cory Trice).
But Harper was not a finished product coming out of Southern Illinois three years ago (he’d been dismissed from the team at Oklahoma State as a sophomore). As the NFL’s official website put it in his official draft profile: “He will need to be enrolled in ‘Technique 101’ in order to learn fundamentals and work on the nuances of the position.”
Three seasons and four teams into his pro career, it seems as if Harper hasn’t proven he’s mastered the art of playing cornerback in the NFL, at least inasmuch as he’s only been deployed to do so for 37 regular-season snaps.
That said, as a rookie he played half of the New York Giants’ special-teams snaps over the nine games for which he was in uniform. So if during training camp Harper can flash an ability to potentially at last cash in on his skillset, he might be able to squeeze out a practice-squad spot.
Alex Highsmith on if he hopes to have a contract extension done before Steelers training camp begins pic.twitter.com/xFANFCIZmv
— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) June 13, 2023
OLB ALEX HIGHSMITH
Experience: 4th season
Contract status: $2.95 million cap hit in 2023, after which scheduled for unrestricted free agency
2023 outlook: Highsmith is one of the more interesting case studies in recent years for a contract extension the Steelers are compelled to broach. On one hand, Highsmith has shown by almost any reasonable measure to be a well-above-average quality starter. The Steelers rarely (if ever) decline an opportunity to give second contracts to that caliber of a player — particularly so for an individual such as Highsmith, whose intangibles seem off-the-charts good in regard to his character, work ethic and fit in the locker room.
But this case isn’t as cut-and-dried as it might seem. The first issue is that the Steelers have another player at Highsmith’s position (T.J. Watt) swallowing up more than $90 million in cap space over the next three seasons. They also have two other defensive players on mega contracts (Minkah Fitzpatrick and Cameron Heyward). A case could be made they need to start spreading that wealth to the offense.
Then, there’s the idea that during Highsmith’s breakout 2022 season in regard to sacks, only 3½ of his 14½ came during the seven games Watt did not play. Yet, rest assured Highsmith’s agent will want his client compensated as a 14½-sack player despite that Highsmith had only eight total sacks over his first two seasons.
Highsmith is a very good player, and the smart bet is that the Steelers give him a contract that values well more than $50 million before September. But it’ll be fascinating to see how it comes together.
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