The Pittsburgh Steelers have quite a few large questions to answer this offseason, including at quarterback as the team once again went one-and-done in the playoffs. One of the biggest questions on the roster that doesn’t get talked about much in the off-season for the Steelers, though, is the looming contract extension for star outside linebacker T.J. Watt.
Watt, who is coming off of a second-team All-Pro season, finished fourth in Defensive Player of the Year voting, and led the NFL in forced fumbles with six, is in line for another major extension as the 2025 season will be the final year of his contract after he signed a four-year, $112 million extension ahead of the 2021 season opener in Buffalo.
Though many believe the Steelers should explore trading Watt to help them find a franchise quarterback, team president and owner Art Rooney II says that isn’t in the cards.
Steelers Depot’s Dave Bryan also laid out in a piece for the site Friday that the Steelers can’t afford to wait on a Watt extension due to names like Myles Garrett, Trey Hendrickson and Micah Parsons in line for big pay days, which could increase the price for Watt.
But for ESPN’s Dan Graziano, he wonders if a Watt extension could drag through the offseason, much like the 2021 extension did until days before the season opener in Buffalo.
“There’s one year left on the extension that Watt — who had 11.5 sacks this past season — signed prior to the 2021 season, which made him the highest-paid defensive player in the league at that time (around $28 million per year). The best way for the Steelers to knock down Watt’s team-high $30.4 million cap number is to extend his contract,” Graziano writes regarding Watt and his possible extension, according to ESPN.com. “But what does that extension look like, with Watt now 30 years old and in a market in which Myles Garrett and Micah Parsons could also want to set the top of the edge rusher market this offseason?
“The last Watt extension took until the day before the 2021 season started before it got finalized. (The current top of the market is $34 million annually, held by 49ers edge rusher Nick Bosa.) Could this drag through the offseason?”
Last time around in contract negotiations, it was unique for Watt, who was coming off of his age 26 season, was a first-team All-Pro for the second straight year, and finished second in Defensive Player of the Year voting. He was going to reset the market for defensive players in the NFL and was looking for a specific deal to do that.
That caused the negotiations to drag out, as Watt was largely a hold-in during training camp, working off on the side during negotiations and doing some light individual work during individual sessions. But then, as the report goes, in the week before the season opener, Watt walked into Art Rooney II’s office, overruled his agent, and signed the contract.
Then, Watt went out and dominated in 2021, winning the Defensive Player of the Year award, tying the NFL record for sacks in a single season with 22.5.
Though he is coming off of a down year for his standards with just 11.5 sacks and 57 pressures, he remains one of the game’s very best players as an all-around defender. That should lead to another big extension, tying him to Pittsburgh into his mid-30s at the very least.
As Bryan pointed out, the Steelers should do it quickly so they don’t have to negotiate against extensions for Garrett, Hendrickson, and Parsons. If they wait, it could cost them. Maybe not, though, if Watt isn’t worried about being the NFL’s highest-paid defensive player.
Let’s just hope, though, that the contract extension for the perennial All-Pro and one of the best Steelers in franchise history doesn’t drag into September once again. That’s a headache and a storyline the Steelers don’t need.
