Since being drafted in 2017, T.J. Watt has been nothing short of sensational. He’s the Pittsburgh Steelers’ all-time sack leader, and he’s also tied for the NFL single-season sack record. His eventual spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame is cemented. Despite all of that, the Steelers still haven’t signed Watt to a contract extension. That’s led to some speculation about whether he could get traded. The 33rd Team analyst Sam Monson recently gave his opinion on the situation, shooting down the idea of a Watt trade.
“Anytime a pass rusher is over 30, you start looking for signs of when are they gonna start to decline, when are they not gonna be that special again,” Monson said Monday on his Check the Mic podcast. “The year or two younger that Myles Garrett is, he’s the right side of 30. It just makes it easier for you to convince yourself that, ‘We’ve got three, four more years of elite Myles Garrett, we’ll get through the whole contract.’
“With T.J. Watt, it’s like, ‘Maybe we won’t. Maybe we’ll only get two years of elite Watt.’ And then he starts to decline. I think it’s a difficult deal to get done. I do think that all this talk of trades and people calling up, absolutely, call up, find out, but the answer will be no. There’s no reason whatsoever Pittsburgh would trade him away.”
Watt is set to turn 31 in October this year, while Garrett won’t be 30 until December. That slight difference might be enough to suggest that Garrett will have an extra year or two more in his prime than Watt.
However, that’s not guaranteed. Some people knock Watt for being “injury-prone,” but he’s played in more games than Garrett. He also has more sacks, tackles for loss, interceptions, and forced fumbles. If Watt gets the kind of long-term deal that Garrett got, it’s fair to wonder if he’ll be as dominant as he has been throughout the entire contract. He’s earned a payday similar to what Garrett received, though.
Last year, Watt’s season didn’t end with a bang. It was much quieter, Watt held without a sack for the Steelers’ final three regular-season games. However, that doesn’t mean that he wasn’t great in 2024. Watt still posted six forced fumbles and 11.5 sacks, a respectable stat line.
Reports indicate that teams have called the Steelers about Watt’s availability. Like Monson says, though, the Steelers have no reason to deal him. Unless Watt demands a trade and refuses, under any circumstances, to continue playing for the Steelers, they shouldn’t let him go.
The Steelers want to be Super Bowl contenders. Their moves this offseason prove that. Trading Watt, especially at this stage of the offseason, doesn’t align with that goal. It would be almost impossible for Pittsburgh to replace him.
Many of the NFL’s best pass rushers have struggled to be maintain their production into their 30s. J.J. Watt and Von Miller are good examples. However, it isn’t impossible. James Harrison and Terrell Suggs were both still great players after turning 30. Perhaps Watt will follow in their footsteps. Paying him is a risk, but it’s one that the Steelers should take.
