The 2025 NFL Draft is still a few weeks away, but that isn’t stopping the NFL media from already looking ahead to the biggest potential free agents in 2026. The Pittsburgh Steelers have a few players at the top of that list, and it remains a mystery how they will go about handling those contracts before the start of the 2025-26 season, let alone after.
In a 2026 free agency preview, Sports Illustrated’s Matt Verderame ranked the top 23 players with contracts expiring in 2026. Unsurprisingly, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy was number one. The Steelers had two players make his rankings: T.J. Watt at eight and George Pickens at eleven.
“Watt is starting to slow a bit at 30 years old, and he still managed 11.5 sacks and six forced fumbles last season,” wrote Verderame. “While there’s the possibility he struggles in 2025 and the Steelers decide to cut bait, the much better bet is he’ll remain an All-Pro-level player who continues to define Pittsburgh’s defense.”
On a scale of 0-10, with zero being the player is definitely not reaching free agency and ten being they absolutely will, Verderame gave T.J. Watt a two. Many sources would agree. Watt has been the star of Pittsburgh’s defense and one of the best pass rushers in the league for nearly a decade. He embodies the black-and-gold and represents Steeler football more than any other player on the team in recent memory outside of maybe Cam Heyward. He’s already the franchise’s all-time leader in sacks. And we’re not talking about the Cleveland Browns or something. He’s ahead of legends like James Harrison, Cam Heyward, and Joey Porter.
Yet Watt is also 30 years old, coming off one of his least productive seasons (still one of the better defensive seasons in the NFL), and he’ll require a significant pay boost as the edge rusher price tag continues to go up. Maxx Crosby and Myles Garrett set the bar at about $40 million per year, and there’s a chance that Watt would have to become the highest-paid non-quarterback in history (temporarily) in order for the Steelers to hold onto him.
It’s a difficult decision, and it’s led some analysts to believe the Steelers should explore potentially trading Watt. I can’t even begin to guess what that blockbuster deal might look like. All I know is that T.J. Watt deserves to be paid big money, and the Steelers should do what it takes for Number 90 to retire in Pittsburgh.
I’m not so sure I feel the same way about the other player on Verderame’s rankings with an expiring contract in 2026.
“Pickens is a fascinating case,” wrote Verderame. “On one hand, he’s ultra talented, just turned 24 years old and averages more than 900 receiving yards per season through three years. On the other, the Steelers just gave DK Metcalf $120 million and Pickens is mercurial from an emotional standpoint. It’s not hard to see Pittsburgh moving off him if things don’t go well in 2025.”
Verderame rated the chance that Pickens leaves a 6/10, meaning it’s slightly more likely than not that he’ll enter free agency in 2026. I’d probably give it a 5/10, because I think it’s a total coin flip.
Despite Pickens’ on-and-off-the-field antics which have become a story at times, Tomlin has done his best to defend him and boost him. He’s often shut down or turned a blind eye to media questions regarding Pickens’ behavior, but even Tomlin — who’s the best players coach in the league, who’s dealt with Antonio Brown Le’Veon Bell, Diontae Johnson, Chase Claypool, and many more characters — has a breaking point.
George Pickens needs to show significant emotional maturity in 2025-26, as well as continued development on the field, or else he will definitely not be worth the ~$30 million per year that he’ll be asking for. And with DK Metcalf’s star-level track record and contract, it seems like the Steelers may be preparing for the reality that Pickens won’t grow into the player they wanted him to be.
