Entering the final year of his mega contract extension, which he signed just days before the start of the 2021 season, Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker T.J. Watt is in line for another massive extension this offseason.
Though he’s coming off of a bit of a down year from his lofty expectations, having recorded 11.5 sacks and just 57 pressures, Watt is still one of the best all-around defenders in the NFL and should continue to be paid as such. That means Watt should find himself in another contract negotiation this offseason with the franchise.
The last time that happened, things dragged out into September before Watt marched into Art Rooney II’s office to sign the deal himself, bypassing his agent in the process. That shouldn’t be the case this time, but for GM Omar Khan, one thing is certain: he and the franchise want Watt to remain a legacy player in franchise history and play with only one team his entire career.
“You know, T.J.’s one of those legacy guys that, you know, I was around Hines Ward and Troy Polamalu; those guys played their entire careers, and that’s a special thing, and I’m hopeful and confident that T.J. will be one of those guys,” Khan said of Watt’s future in Pittsburgh during a session with the media Tuesday at the NFL Scouting Combine.
Since being the No. 30 overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, Watt has put together a dominant tenure in the Black and Gold, easily putting himself among the all-time greats in franchise history. He has a Defensive Player of the Year award on his resume, is tied for the most sacks in a single season with 22.5 in NFL history, and has four other top 5 finishes in DPOY voting.
Year after year, Watt is a game-wrecker and one of the best defensive players in the league, period. Even if he’s on the wrong side of 30 and coming off of a season in which teams came up with a way to slow him down with chips from tight ends and running backs, not to mention sliding protections his way, he remains the elite of the elite.
He should be paid as such, too, and quickly, as Steelers Depot’s Dave Bryan laid out.
For Khan, he’s hopeful it won’t take that long to get Watt inked to a new deal, even if he won’t discuss the contract publicly.
“You know, I don’t want to get into details of that. You know, it’s been different depending on the circumstances that persist, but T.J.’s been a big part of this team and confident and hopeful he’ll be here,” Khan added regarding Watt.
Though there’s been the push to potentially try and shop Watt from the media and fanbase’s perspective to help speed up the rebuild, no such thing will occur within the Steelers’ facility, especially when it comes to a franchise pillar.
Watt will get a new deal and remain one of the top defensive players in the NFL. The only question is when that deal will be done.
