The Pittsburgh Steelers have one item left on their offseason to-do list: to work something out with T.J. Watt. The star pass rusher is heading into the final year of his deal, and there’s a decent chance he decides to hold out of training camp if an agreement isn’t reached. According to NFL insider Jonathan Jones, Watt isn’t happy with where things stand right now.
“Their best player, T.J. Watt, he’s not happy,” Jones said on CBS Sports HQ on Wednesday. “He’s not happy about his contract situation… Will it get done before training camp? I don’t know that they’re that close on it.”
There are a few reasons why Watt might be unhappy. For one, despite carrying the franchise at times over the last few years, Pittsburgh has put his contract discussions on the back burner. They went out and traded for DK Metcalf, then gave him a massive extension. They waited on Aaron Rodgers for multiple months, and recently swung a big trade to land Jalen Ramsey and Jonnu Smith.
Obviously, the Steelers still have to take care of the rest of their roster. However, according to Jones, they aren’t doing themselves any favors at the moment.
“The Steelers could have anticipated that T.J. Watt is still going to play like one of the best pass rushers and best players in the game,” Jones said. “They could have headed this off at the pass… Now, not only has that number gone up, it’s really gone up.”
Jones is referring to some other pass rushers who received their own massive extensions this offseason. Those include Myles Garrett, Maxx Crosby, and Danielle Hunter. Each of them is making at least $35 million per year on their respective deals.
If the Steelers had taken care of this early in the offseason, they could have reset the market with Watt at that current threshold. Yet, they waited. If Watt wants market-resetting money, which some suggest is the case, Pittsburgh will have to pay him north of $40 million per year. Whether they want to reset the market or not, that price is now about $5 million more expensive per season.
So, where do we go from here? Watt held in back in 2021 when the sides were trying to find a deal. He could take that route again this year. However, Watt missed the mandatory minicamp earlier this offseason, which could signal plans to hold out of camp instead.
There’s been plenty of speculation about a trade, but that doesn’t feel likely. Given the context of his situation, the return probably isn’t worth losing such an important piece to the puzzle. In all likelihood, this should end in an extension. The longer it takes, the more intense things might get, though. For now, Jones doesn’t believe the two parties are close.
