The T.J. Watt contract situation doesn’t seem all that great for the Pittsburgh Steelers right now, especially after Watt skipped mandatory minicamp in the midst of negotiations with the franchise. That came after he missed voluntary Organized Team Activities and previously posted a cryptic photo on Instagram in which he threw up the peace sign, leading to speculation about his future in Pittsburgh.
Despite some contentious talk regarding Watt’s contract situation, the belief remains that the Steelers and Watt will get a deal done and be no worse for the wear. ESPN’s Peter Schrager even believes the Watt deal gets done before Trey Hendrickson gets a deal with the Cincinnati Bengals.
Appearing on “The Pat McAfee Show” Tuesday afternoon, Schrager made the case for why Watt will get a deal before not only Hendrickson but Dallas’ Micah Parsons, too.
“I know both sides are really motivated to get something done here. They don’t wanna go into training camp and have this thing drag on,” Schrager said of the Watt contract situation, according to video via the show’s YouTube page. “The [Aaron] Rodgers domino fell; DeShon Elliott’s a nice player to have. But this was always gonna be let’s get Rodgers in camp, and I think the T.J. Watt deal has to get done. Now, from what I’m told, both sides want it to get done. Obviously T.J. Watt’s gonna want a certain amount of money. Question is, is it a game of chicken? Where it’s, okay, T.J. Watt takes a deal that the Steelers offer and then a week later, Micah Parsons blows his deal outta the water and we’re in the same place that we were beforehand.
“So it’s always interesting to see when you’re talking top of the market guys, who is gonna take that offer first? Who’s motivated to get it done first and who’s willing to wait it out?”
Schrager stating that both sides want to get a deal done is a common refrain in the Watt contract situation. The Steelers weren’t surprised that Watt skipped on minicamp, and they didn’t seem all that upset with it, either. Head coach Mike Tomlin did go so far as to be careful not to speculate on Watt showing up to training camp, though he did state that he has no questions whatsoever regarding Watt’s future with the franchise.
GM Omar Khan has talked multiple times about wanting Watt to be a one-helmet guy and finishing his career as one of those legacy Steelers in the mold of Hines Ward and Troy Polamalu. Watt seemingly wants to do the same, stating he doesn’t want to play for another other coach.
But it’s a business, and negotiations need to be had to get to common ground. That’s what is happening right now.
One thing is clear though: Watt isn’t all that thrilled with how things are going. He might be upset that the Steelers didn’t take care of him last year. Then he watched the likes of Myles Garrett in Cleveland and Maxx Crosby in Las Vegas get new, market-setting deals.
Now, he wants his, and rightfully so. The Steelers have a process though, and there seems to be no real rush to get a deal done. They want to get a deal done, though, and that’s the most important thing. It might take some time, but the general belief is a deal will get done and Watt will remain a Steeler for life.
The journey right now is a bumpy road though, and it’s concerning. At least it’s not playing out publicly like the Hendrickson situation in Cincinnati, one that is rather ugly and has led to some harsh words from both sides, even if the Steelers are seemingly being criticized more for the Watt situation than the Bengals for Hendrickson’s.
