One of the great tragedies of the Pittsburgh Steelers is that T.J. Watt, a former Defensive Player of the Year and a four-time first-team All Pro has never won a playoff game, let alone the ultimate goal of trying to win a Super Bowl.
Drafted in 2017, he joined the Steelers one season after their most recent playoff win in the 2016 season. He has only played in three playoff games, forced to sit out the 2023 Wild Card game with a knee injury, and the Steelers have lost those three games by a combined score of 135-100. He will turn 30 years old this October, so it is time to start wondering how much longer he can play at a high level before father time inevitably forces him to call it a career.
Watt addressed this fact in a recent interview by Mark Kaboly of The Athletic.
“I don’t know if I want to play forever, but who knows? It is too hard to say,” Watt said. “J.J. always said he didn’t want to play super long. Then things happened, and he ended up playing longer. I won’t know until that moment comes. I feel great now, so I am kind of just living in the moment.
“I don’t have forever to play.”
Watt addressed some of the ways he is tweaking his offseason habits to help with his aging body, including taking it easy in the weight room, maintaining his body, and doing whatever it takes to stay healthy.
He suffered a minor knee injury in the final regular-season game of 2023 and was forced to sit out what would have been his fourth playoff game. Approaching 30 years old, how many more chances will he get to try and win a playoff game and make some sort of run toward the ultimate goal of winning a Super Bowl?
J.J. Watt called it a career at 33 years old, but he also dealt with several more injuries than his younger brother has endured. T.J. Watt has played 10 or more games in every season of his career while his older brother played under 10 games in four different seasons. If you compare their injury histories side by side, T.J. Watt has much less wear and tear on his body.
Still, how many edge rushers play deep into their 30s? Most players start to fall off or call it a career around their age-34 season. Watt’s contract keeps him with the team through the 2025 season. Next offseason could see an extension, but that third contract could very well be all he has left in him.
Say he plays something like five more seasons, continuing through 2028, that would make him 34 years old, so he would slightly surpass his older brother’s career longevity. The Steelers do not have a clear path forward at the quarterback position. The 2024 season with Russell Wilson may be Watt’s best chance to compete for playoff wins, or even a surprise run for a shot at a Super Bowl. He said back in January that it is extremely frustrating to not have a playoff win.
It would be one of the all-time shames for the franchise if it fails to get Watt over the playoff hump as one of the best edge rushers to ever play the game.
