With Aaron Rodgers on the team, T.J. Watt is now the big story for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He’s not at mandatory minicamp, reportedly skipping it due to a contract dispute. Watt is going into the last year of his contract, and he wants an extension. However, he and the Steelers have not been able to come to terms on a deal yet. Mike Tomlin downplayed Watt’s absence Tuesday after practice.
“We’d like him to be here but certainly not surprised by where we are,” Tomlin said via the team’s Twitter. “We’ve expressed the desire to get the business done. He has as well, and so we’ll continue to work. We’ve been here before.”
Tomlin is correct that the Steelers have been through a contract dispute with Watt before. In 2021, when he was due for his first big extension, it took time for a deal to get done. However, Watt was still present at mandatory team activities, although he didn’t practice with the team. That might be an indication that he’s even more serious about getting a pay raise this time around.
Still, when asked if he’s concerned about Watt’s future with the Steelers, Tomlin got straight to the point.
“No,” he said.
Last time, Watt’s deal got done right before the regular season began. That’s usually how the Steelers do business. If they want to give a player a contract extension, they usually wait until they’re in the last year of their deal, figuring something out around training camp.
With Watt not at minicamp, perhaps that timeline will get accelerated. Reports have indicated that no deal seems imminent. The next big benchmark will be training camp. If Watt skips that, then things could start getting trickier.
Despite all of that, it still feels like Watt will remain with the Steelers. He’s their best player, and they’ve made it clear that they want to compete for a Super Bowl this year. Without Watt, that would likely be difficult to do.
Also, he’s earned a pay raise. If the Steelers wanted to pay him less, they should’ve gotten a deal done earlier. Now, Myles Garrett and Maxx Crosby have reset the edge rusher market. If Micah Parsons also gets a huge extension before Watt, the latter’s price tag will likely continue to go up. The market decides his value, and it says he should be paid more. Hopefully, a deal gets done sooner rather than later.
