It is hard to imagine the Pittsburgh Steelers without edge rusher T.J. Watt. He’s entrenched himself in this city, woven into its DNA as a stalwart along the edge. He’ll go into the Ring of Honor in short order and the Hall of Fame as a Steeler.
But every unforeseen move is unimaginable until it happens, and until Watt signs the extension he’s looking for, it remains possible that he will play somewhere other than Pittsburgh.
The Steelers waited too long to give Watt his new deal, and in the meantime, Cleveland Browns edge rusher Myles Garrett reset the market with a $160 million deal. Of that gargantuan mark, $123.6 million is guaranteed.
Subsequently, it’s no surprise that insider James Palmer revealed the key to the Steelers extending Watt is a matter of guaranteed money.
“He’s had some injuries,” Palmer said for Bleacher Report. “He’s battled through them. He’s going to be 31 years old. Do you give $100 million guaranteed to somebody like that? I think that’s where this battle’s going to happen, but I think a deal is going to end up happening.”
The optimism is welcome wording for a fanbase paranoid about losing its star. However, Pittsburgh’s hesitancy is understandable. Watt is on the wrong side of 30 and didn’t produce like an elite edge rusher in 2024.
That isn’t necessarily a sign of some steep decline, and Watt’s run defense should keep him viable deep into his next contract. But when that contract is bound to approach (if not surpass) $40 million annually, with significant guaranteed money, there’s a real chance the contract becomes a bad one rather quickly.
“The issue with this is a big swing with Aaron Rodgers,” Palmer said. “They know how important the defense is gonna be, they know they need T.J. Watt, and a deal is likely going to get done. But the Steelers’ argument is this: That Watt and the defense kind of fell off a little bit the back end of last year.”
If Watt’s decline has already arrived, the Steelers – who are still favored to extend him – are in trouble. They’ll bank on his pedigree and track record of production when they eventually take that leap of faith. Finding the courage to bite that bullet, for the sake of keeping an icon around, is taking longer than anticipated. Even so, fans should remain confident in a deal getting done.
