While the online debate rages on about T.J. Watt’s Instagram photo and what it means for his place with the Pittsburgh Steelers going forward, analyst Jason McIntyre is taking a big-picture view to take a big jab at how the team has handled Watt over the past year. Crushing the team from every angle, McIntyre says the Steelers have brought any potential trouble with Watt upon themselves.
“At some point, these teams have to get smarter and realize, ‘Oh, this is coming down the road,'” McIntyre said Thursday on FOX Sports’ The Herd. “‘Let me nip it in the bud. I’ve gotta not wait until the end’ ’cause when you wait, you end up paying more.
Pittsburgh’s decision to wait on getting a deal done with Watt has only proven costly. Big brother J.J. Watt believes the Steelers could’ve gotten T.J. Watt at a “discount” had an extension been worked out last season. That would’ve broken long-standing precedent of not doing non-quarterback extensions two years out, though it would’ve resulted in a deal cheaper than the one the Steelers are facing now. Watt could’ve topped Nick Bosa’s contract, earned $35 million per season, and had no recourse as he watched the rest of the market get paid this offseason.
The Steelers could’ve done the same earlier this year. Had they shown more urgency, a long-term deal could’ve been hammered out in February. Instead, Pittsburgh, as it often does, has waited to get a deal done despite making it publicly clear of its intent to extend Watt long-term. That’s allowed the Las Vegas Raiders’ Maxx Crosby and Cleveland Browns’ Myles Garrett to receive mega-extensions. At $40 million average yearly value, Garrett’s number completely reset the market and put Pittsburgh in a potentially tough spot when it comes to Watt.
But McIntyre believes paying Watt was never the right approach. Trading him should’ve been the outcome.
“I’m the idiot who last summer hosting The Herd for Colin [Cowherd] came on and said, ‘You want some hot takes for the summer?'” he said. “‘I would trade T.J. Watt. I would start over. We don’t have a quarterback. We’re going nowhere. Trade him. Get a haul before you gotta pay him. Before he gets too old, before he gets injured again.'”
Determining hypothetical trade value for Watt is difficult. Players of his caliber, and McIntyre gave Watt his due during the segment, don’t often hit the trade block. Watt probably wouldn’t bring the farm of picks Garrett would have had the Browns obliged to his trade request. Now in his 30s with injuries and a looming extension that at its lowest, will come in around $36 million per year, the Steelers wouldn’t get enough in a trade to justify all they would lose in Watt. To McIntyre, it’s another situation that puts Pittsburgh in a bind.
“I think the Steelers are kind of stuck here,” he said. “They’re waiting for Aaron Rodgers. They’re trying to get T.J. Watt done. Mike Tomlin, hey, maybe you should have left last year instead of come back to this mess. The Steelers right now could be right down there with the Browns in one of the toughest divisions in the AFC.”
The media has run with a story that may be nothing, focusing in on a lone caption-less photo from Watt. Even NFL insiders are weighing in on what it means between Watt and the Steelers. But in a slow part of the calendar, after the bulk of free agency and before the draft, analysts will get their mileage out of the topic. And McIntyre is quick to take a victory lap.
