Though T.J. Watt is still without a contract extension, NFL insider Dan Graziano expects that to change before the Pittsburgh Steelers take on the New York Jets Sept. 7. Weighing in on Watt’s outlook, Graziano expects a deal to get done sooner or later.
“Steelers get these deals done generally later in the offseason,” he said Friday on ESPN’s Get Up. “So I would imagine T.J. Watt gets a contract extension at some time between now and the start of September.”
As Graziano said, Pittsburgh usually doesn’t get deals done early. Instead, most of its contract talks heat up in June with many agreements reached after the team breaks training camp. Last year, TE Pat Freiermuth and DL Cam Heyward received their extensions in September. Freiermuth on the sixth, Heyward on the third.
Watt’s 2021 mega-extension took plenty of time to complete and wasn’t official until Sept. 9 of that year. A similar situation could play out this time around. While Pittsburgh won’t have to navigate the contract particulars that presumably held up the last deal, specifically the guaranteed money past Year 1, the hot pass rusher market of 2024 has driven up Watt’s price tag.
Danielle Hunter, Maxx Crosby, and Myles Garrett all received new contracts this year with Garrett’s $40 million average yearly value deal resetting the market. Watt isn’t the only one left, either. Aidan Hutchinson, Trey Hendrickson, and Micah Parsons are also angling for contracts of their own. The Lions are generally proactive in getting deals done as soon as possible and Parsons could top Garrett’s number to become the highest-paid pass rusher in football. All of which would give Watt more ammunition to ask for a massive deal.
A deal with Watt is almost certainly going to get done. Even teammates like Alex Highsmith have expressed optimism. It’s a matter of how messy the situation gets, and the deeper into the summer it drags, the more of a story it’ll become.
