With T.J. Watt in contract limbo as the clock ticks down to the start of training camp, some have wondered if the Pittsburgh Steelers could be looking at options outside of extending him and making him the highest-paid defensive player in football. Bleacher Report NFL insider James Palmer explained why a trade is highly unlikely at this point of the offseason.
“Some people have talked about, do they end up trading him? I don’t see that. I don’t think anybody I’ve talked to sees that for a couple reasons,” Palmer said Wednesday via Bleacher Report’s YouTube. “They’re all-in on 2025. What does the draft pick in 2026 do for the Steelers right now in terms of helping them in 2025 and helping them try to get over the hump of what has been five straight one-and-dones in the postseason?”
While the Steelers have shown a clear strategy of stockpiling 2026 draft resources with their free agent moves and the George Pickens trade, they have also positioned themselves to go all-in on 2025 with Aaron Rodgers. The additions of DK Metcalf, Darius Slay, Jalen Ramsey and Jonnu Smith show a clear sense of urgency for this season. Moving on from Watt would raise questions about the overall strategy of the rest of those moves.
Even if they wanted to move Watt, finding a trade partner at this point of the offseason would be tremendously difficult. It would need to be a team going all-in on its current window that happens to have plenty of cap space and draft capital it is willing to part with. Very few, if any, fit that description.
“How do you also make that trade?” Palmer asked. “Trey Hendrickson is looking for less money. Trey Hendrickson has had very similar production, and the Bengals couldn’t get a number one for it. And also, how does a team this late have the financial capabilities to sign a guy at $40 million a year, give out draft capital and be one player away? It’s a pretty small list. So I would eliminate right now—anything’s possible—but eliminate any sort of trade. It looks like this thing could drag on.”
Palmer repeated some of his reports from recent weeks about Watt wanting to be the highest-paid player to reset Myles Garrett’s high mark and reiterated a point made by Adam Schefter that the two sides appear far away in their negotiations at the moment.
In the unlikely event that Watt is moved, perhaps it would involve another player, similar to the Minkah Fitzpatrick trade. That would help alleviate some of the potential cap burden of Watt on the recipient team while giving the Steelers something else to spend 2025 cash on.
Watt’s production certainly gives him some leverage, but the Steelers hold most of the power with Watt under contract in 2025. A deal seems likely at some point, but the optics may get worse before they get better.
