{"id":763869,"date":"2026-02-20T05:25:11","date_gmt":"2026-02-20T05:25:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/763869\/"},"modified":"2026-02-20T05:25:11","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T05:25:11","slug":"chargers-land-68-million-player-in-dream-trade-scenario","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/763869\/","title":{"rendered":"Chargers land $68 million player in dream trade scenario"},"content":{"rendered":"

Feb. 19, 2026, 5:19 p.m. PT<\/p>\n

The Chargers land Steelers edge rusher Alex Highsmith in a dream trade scenario via Bleacher Report’s Moe Moton<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“Last offseason, the Pittsburgh Steelers signed edge-rusher T.J. Watt to a three-year extension worth $123 million. They may now have to decide between Alex Highsmith and Nick Herbig for the long term,” Moton writes.<\/p>\n

“If Highsmith is the odd man out of the Steelers’ pass-rushing rotation, he could be a solid addition to the Los Angeles Chargers<\/a>‘ edge-rusher group.<\/p>\n

“The Chargers could lose Odafe Oweh in free agency, and Khalil Mack might\u00a0retire. In Los Angeles, Highsmith can balance the pass rush as a more productive veteran than Bud Dupree.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“With Pro Bowler Tuli Tuipulotu commanding attention on one side, Highsmith could take advantage of one-on-one opportunities on his side of the line.”<\/p>\n

Expert NFL picks: Exclusive betting insights only at USA TODAY.<\/a>How Did Alex Highsmith Perform in 2025?<\/p>\n

Highsmith recorded 9.5 sacks, 36 solo tackles, 19 quarterback hits, and one forced fumble across 13 games last season with the Steelers. In 2025, he finished among Pittsburgh’s best defenders despite battling injuries.<\/p>\n

Highsmith has established himself as a cornerstone of the Steelers’ defense, accumulating\u00a045.0 career sacks\u00a0and\u00a010 forced fumbles\u00a0over six seasons.<\/p>\n

The uncertainty surrounding Khalil Mack and Odafe Oweh’s future with the franchise, as well as the need for sure things alongside Tuli Tuipulotu, would make the acquisition of Highsmith more than ideal as the Chargers look to make a deep playoff run next season.<\/p>\n

Regardless, the Chargers’ defense will look somewhat different under new defensive coordinator Chris O’Leary, and it would be wise to give him the necessary pieces to thrive in his first season with playcalling duties.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Feb. 19, 2026, 5:19 p.m. PT The Chargers land Steelers edge rusher Alex Highsmith in a dream trade…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":763870,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2064],"tags":[95878,241,7,1014,262,2444,2443,6,97083,97084,108890,95882,97245,100767,97085,95895,98490,97641,95906,95883,95881],"class_list":{"0":"post-763869","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles-chargers","8":"tag-accessfree","9":"tag-chargers","10":"tag-football","11":"tag-los-angeles","12":"tag-los-angeles-chargers","13":"tag-losangeles","14":"tag-losangeleschargers","15":"tag-nfl","16":"tag-sstssportsnflchargers","17":"tag-sstsnchargers","18":"tag-tagalex-highsmith","19":"tag-tagamerican-football","20":"tag-tagbud-dupree","21":"tag-tagkhalil-mack","22":"tag-taglos-angeles-chargers","23":"tag-tagnfl-hub","24":"tag-tagnick-herbig","25":"tag-tagodafe-oweh","26":"tag-tagoverall-positive","27":"tag-tagsports-news","28":"tag-typestory"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116101298877378145","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/763869","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=763869"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/763869\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/763870"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=763869"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=763869"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=763869"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}