For the Pittsburgh Steelers, training camp is almost here, and they’ve answered one of the biggest questions left about them. They’ve agreed to terms on a contract extension with T.J. Watt, keeping him in Pittsburgh for the next few years. Watt is their best player, but considering the size of the contract, it wasn’t guaranteed that the Steelers would get something done with him. There was a lot of speculation that the Steelers could’ve sent Watt elsewhere. Former NFL wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh thinks Pittsburgh should’ve traded Watt.
“T.J. Watt is a baller, well deserved,” Houshmandzadeh said recently on the Up on Game podcast. “Get all the money you can get, but for this dude, he’s earned it. When you’re a baller and you play the way he’s played, go get your money.
“But if I’m the Steelers, I’m not doing this. I’ve got to trade him. The Steelers have been one of the best defenses in the league since I was playing. Their problem is not and has never been defense. It’s offense. So, why wouldn’t you use the guy that I just described to go get better on offense? That’s been where you guys have failed at.”
Houshmandzadeh is correct that defense has usually been the Steelers’ calling card. More often than not, that unit is among the NFL’s best. However, they’ve struggled to field a decent offense to complement their defense. That’s held the team back.
Despite that, the answer to that problem isn’t trading Watt. He’s one of the best players in the NFL. Trading him would solve one problem but create another. It would be almost impossible for the Steelers to replace Watt’s impact on defense. Nick Herbig and Alex Highsmith are good players, but neither of them is as elite as Watt.
Also, Houshmandzadeh is assuming that the Steelers could’ve fixed their offense with a Watt trade. More likely than not, if they were to trade Watt, the Steelers would enter a rebuilding phase. They’d likely receive draft picks in return. There were very few scenarios where Pittsburgh would’ve traded Watt and still fielded a competitive playoff team this year.
Maybe the Watt deal will come back to bite the Steelers. However, with the direction they’re trying to take their team, getting that deal done made the most sense. They’ve indicated that they’re trying to be Super Bowl contenders this season. Therefore, they had to keep Watt. If they had actually wanted to trade him, they would’ve shopped him around earlier this year. Their goal was always to keep him in Pittsburgh.
