New star Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver DK Metcalf isn’t the only big-name player absent from the first day of Organized Team Activities.
Star outside linebacker T.J. Watt and free agent signee cornerback Darius Slay were also notably absent from the Tuesday session though OTAs are voluntary. The Johnstown Democrat’s Amanda Godsey tweeted about Watt and Slay’s absence after the Steelers’ first offseason practice.
UPDATE (5:54 PM): Per the Trib’s Chris Adamski, OG Isaac Seumalo also didn’t attend today’s session, making him the fourth absent starter.
Watt’ absence from OTAs isn’t a surprise, considering he’s entering the final year of his contract and is in line for a huge extension. Watt generated some headlines earlier in the offseason with an Instagram post, throwing up the peace sign without any caption, leading plenty to debate Watt’s meaning with the post and whether he wants out of Pittsburgh or not.
NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport stated at the time that he didn’t think negotiations with Watt were going well, but there has been no talk about a Watt extension since the cryptic Instagram post.
While he is in line for a huge contract extension, Watt is coming off a down year by his standards.
He had just 11.5 sacks and 53 pressures and dealt with an injury late in the season that slowed him down some. That led to a really disappointing close to the season for the perennial All-Pro as he was held without a single stat in the regular-season finale and the Steelers’ Wild Card round loss to the Ravens.
Though the sacks numbers weren’t there, Watt remained an elite player during the 2024 season. He still found a way to impact games, punching the football out time and again. He led the NFL in forced fumbles on the season with six, even while dealing with the frustration of not being able to get to the quarterback consistently due to the continuous chips and slides in protection toward him.
Despite the tough close to the season, Watt deserves the huge payday that is coming his way. He’ll get an extension from the Steelers when it’s all said and done, but it’s rather notable that he’s not at OTAs a few months after the cryptic Instagram post.
As for Slay, it’s a bit puzzling why he missed the Steelers’ first of six OTA sessions. Granted, it’s all voluntary, but for a veteran joining a new team and a new defense, one would think he’d be there to get a jump on acclimating himself with his new teammates, the defense, and the language of calls used.
Of course, Slay did play under Steelers DC Teryl Austin in Detroit, so there is probably some familiarity there from a verbiage aspect, but it’s surprising to see Slay not in attendance initially.
Having three starters not at OTAs, on top of no news from Aaron Rodgers, is a slightly frustrating start to the offseason workouts for the Steelers.
