T.J. Watt is about to turn the big 3-0. And he’s feeling every bit of the impending new decade. Speaking after Wednesday’s OTA practice, Watt says he officially feels like the old guy in the room. Maybe not because his back is aching but because of the youth in the locker room around him.
“This is the first time in my career that I’ve started to feel old,” he said via Steelers.com’s Teresa Varley. “This is my eighth year and I’m one of the only guys that’s been around a long time, so that’s the only difference.”
Watt turns 30 in mid-October and is one of the veterans in the entire Steelers’ building, offense, defense, or special teams. The only players who have been with the team longer are DL Cam Heyward and K Chris Boswell. Watt is also the only member of the 2017 Draft Class, though a potential reunion with CB Cam Sutton later this summer would change that.
Pittsburgh’s defense is older than its offense, but the group has undergone plenty of turnover. This offseason, the team made a splash signing ILB Patrick Queen, adding SS DeShon Elliott, and trading for CB Donte Jackson.
For T.J. Watt, it’s been a solid three decades. All he’s done is become a first-round pick and put himself on a Hall of Fame path so obvious he could probably retire today and be inducted into Canton. Last season, Watt broke the Steelers’ franchise sack record, is tied with Michael Strahan for the official single-season mark, is the only player in official history to lead the league in sacks three separate seasons, and has won Defensive Player of the Year.
While Watt is about to turn 30, he hasn’t lost an ounce of passion for the game.
“This is the best job in the world. It still is. It’s so much fun. And we’re just flying around and having so much fun out there, and I expect that to continue throughout the offseason.”
After an injury-marred 2022 campaign, Watt bounced back to lead the league with 19 sacks in 2023. Despite seeing constant attention from opposing offenses, Watt made plays in every aspect of the game. Beyond his 19 sacks, he had 19 tackles for a loss, ten run stuffs (tackles for zero or last yards), eight pass deflections, four forced fumbles, and one interception.
For 2024, T.J. Watt needs just 3.5 sacks to reach 100 and become one of the fastest players to ever reach triple-digits. That could happen before his 30th birthday, capping off a 20s decade with success few in football have ever achieved.
