What happened: The Pittsburgh Steelers approach the Nov. 10 trade deadline with outside linebackers T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith, and Nick Herbig set to carry a combined $88 million cap hit in 2027 following Herbig's four-year, $100 million offseason extension. At the same time, the offense is navigating recent wide receiver injuries to Michael Pittman Jr., Ben Skowronek, and Roman Wilson, who was placed on injured reserve on Oct. 17. Pittsburgh currently sits tied with the Baltimore Ravens and Cleveland Browns in the division standings while Rodgers builds on a 2025 campaign in which he totaled 3,322 passing yards and 24 touchdowns across 16 games per ESPN.

Why it matters: T.J. Watt, who paced pass rushers with a 10.5% sack rate earlier this season, brings 119.5 career sacks and a Defensive Player of the Year award to a rotation that has generated 9.5 of the team's 16 total sacks in 2026. Highsmith posted 50 tackles and 9.5 sacks in 13 games with the Steelers in 2025 per ESPN across 48 career starts, while the 24-year-old Herbig has recorded 18 sacks in his first four NFL seasons. That pressure has propelled Pittsburgh into the league's top nine in sacks while holding opponents to 204.3 passing yards per game, the seventh-lowest mark in the NFL.