Now that QB Aaron Rodgers is signed and in a Pittsburgh Steelers jersey to start minicamp, the main headline of the offseason now turns to OLB T.J. Watt who is skipping out of the team’s three-day mandatory minicamp as he awaits a new deal. The belief is that a deal with Watt will get done sometime here this summer prior to the start of the season, but for now, it appears as if the two sides are far apart in contract talks as he isn’t around the facility.
While Pittsburgh would benefit from having their best player’s presence on the field and in the locker room, one Steeler actually stands to gain from Watt’s absence: rookie OLB Jack Sawyer.
Sawyer was a bit of a surprise selection by the Steelers in the fourth round of the 2025 NFL Draft, already having the likes of Watt, Alex Highsmith, and Nick Herbig in the outside linebacker room, making Sawyer OLB4 at-best this season. However, Pittsburgh needed to add a quality fourth edge rusher to the roster for depth and the value of Sawyer seemed too good to pass up on Day 3 of the draft, giving the team a proven, well-rounded pass rusher that can also set the edge well against the run.
If Watt was at minicamp, the reps with the first team defense would be primarily taken up be he and Highsmith with Herbig likely sprinkling in a bit as the team’s OLB3. This would leave minimal opportunities for Sawyer to get some run with the first team defense, and likely limiting his overall reps with the second and third team units as well with only so many reps to go around.
However, with Watt not on the field, his absence opens up more snaps and live reps for Sawyer to learn on-the-go with other members of the starting defense, getting the opportunity to get a feel for playing along the likes of Cameron Heyward, Patrick Queen, and Minkah Fitzpatrick. Outside linebackers coach Denzel Martin mentioned after the team’s first minicamp practice that Sawyer is eager to learn and get on the field as much as he can, so in a way, Watt skipping out on minicamp could be seen as a benefit to help jumpstart Sawyer’s development and integration into the defense.
Obviously, we can expect a deal to get hammered out with Watt in the coming weeks, putting Sawyer likely back at his OLB4 role. This means that Sawyer’s projected play time as a rookie on defense in 2025 likely will be limited with Watt, Highsmith, and Herbig ahead of him. However, it’s plausible that Sawyer could see upwards of 200 snaps on defense in a rotational role much like Matthew Marczi of Steelers Depot suggested after Herbig logged nearly that amount of snaps as a rookie himself in 2023 behind Watt and Highsmith who were healthy for that season along with Markus Golden who Pittsburgh had playing in a rotational role.
Regardless of how much Sawyer plays as a rookie, these snaps early in his rookie season are more valuable than what they would be for Watt who is entering his ninth season in the league. If Pittsburgh wants their rookie outside linebacker up to speed in order to contribute early in the regular season, the number and quality of his snaps in minicamp and training camp will help expedite that. Thus, Sawyer should maximize this opportunity while Watt isn’t in-town to get all the on-field learning he can before Watt returns where he will then be learning from one of the best in the league in more of an observing fashion.
