The Pittsburgh Steelers checked off the final big-ticket item on their offseason Thursday. They agreed to terms with star pass rusher T.J. Watt on a massive contract extension, making him the highest-paid non-quarterback in the league. That move should be the last expensive one in an offseason full of big moves. It’s all aimed at a Super Bowl berth for the Steelers.
And that means one-and-done in the playoffs is unacceptable. Andrew Siciliano, who guest hosted Friday on the Rich Eisen Show, offered his thoughts on what Watt’s extension (and the entirety of the Steelers’ offseason moves) means for the upcoming season.
“There is no worse scenario for the Pittsburgh Steelers than being one-and-done,” Siciliano said. “If I am a Steeler fan, I am hoping for Super Bowl or top-five pick. There can be no in between.”
Every team wants to win the Super Bowl, of course. Or at least the players and coaches do. But the reality is that only one team can win a Super Bowl in a given year. And some teams are much closer to contention than others.
Evidently, based upon signing 41-year-old QB Aaron Rodgers along with trades for WR DK Metcalf, CB Jalen Ramsey, and TE Jonnu Smith (plus Watt’s extension), the Steelers believe they are very close to contending for their seventh Super Bowl title. Out of all the moves they made this offseason, really only Metcalf can be construed as a long-term move. Watt will be around in Pittsburgh, of course. But Rodgers won’t be.
The Steelers do not have a long-term solution at the quarterback position. They are banking on Rodgers having a quality year that puts them over the top. But he’s only in Pittsburgh for 2025. That means this plan has to work.
And having T.J. Watt happy is a huge part of that. The Steelers want to have a dominant defense and a strong running game. That would take the pressure off Rodgers. He doesn’t have to do it all for the Steelers to win games. And Watt is one of the key players to having a successful defense. The Steelers are more dangerous with a great defense, and it increases their chance of a successful season.
Or, as Siciliano says, you have to hope this blows up spectacularly.
“If it goes badly, it has to go horribly,” Siciliano said. “Because, if you are picking at 20 or 21 again, you’ve gained nothing. You’re spinning your tires, because then Rodgers isn’t coming back, and you are in no position to go get the future franchise guy that you so desperately need and have been trying to get.”
The Steelers have Mason Rudolph and rookie sixth-round pick Will Howard behind Rodgers. The Steelers don’t view Rudolph as a solution at the quarterback position. Otherwise, they would have re-signed him after he got them to the playoffs in 2023 rather than bringing in Russell Wilson and Justin Fields. And Howard may have won a national title with Ohio State in 2024, but he was a sixth-round pick for a reason.
Sure, Howard could have a meteoric rise. Nothing is impossible in the NFL. But the Steelers are banking fully on Rodgers for 2025, and he gives them nothing in 2026. So, they need a deep run in the playoffs to make it worthwhile. It looks like Super Bowl or bust for the Steelers in 2025.
Or, as Siciliano said, this needs to go so badly that the Steelers can grab a potential franchise quarterback without investing quite a few picks to get into position to draft one.
