{"id":57264,"date":"2025-06-20T02:45:21","date_gmt":"2025-06-20T02:45:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=57264"},"modified":"2025-06-20T02:45:21","modified_gmt":"2025-06-20T02:45:21","slug":"breaking-insider-reveals-key-to-steelers-extending-t-j-watt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=57264","title":{"rendered":"BREAKING: Insider Reveals Key to Steelers Extending T.J. Watt.."},"content":{"rendered":"
The Pittsburgh Steelers know edge rusher T.J. Watt is waiting for an expensive deal, but how much are they willing to guarantee him?<\/div>\n
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It is hard to imagine the\u00a0Pittsburgh Steelers\u00a0without edge rusher T.J. Watt. He\u2019s entrenched himself in this city, woven into its DNA as a stalwart along the edge. He\u2019ll go into the Ring of Honor in short order and the Hall of Fame as a Steeler.<\/p>\n

But every unforeseen move is unimaginable until it happens, and until Watt signs the extension he\u2019s looking for, it remains possible that he will play somewhere other than Pittsburgh.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Steelers\u00a0waited too long to give Watt his new deal, and in the meantime,\u00a0Cleveland Browns\u00a0edge rusher Myles Garrett reset the market with a $160 million deal. Of that gargantuan mark, $123.6 million is guaranteed.<\/p>\n

Subsequently, it\u2019s no surprise that insider James Palmer revealed the key to the Steelers extending Watt is a matter of guaranteed money.<\/p>\n

“He’s had some injuries,”\u00a0Palmer 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.”<\/p>\n

The optimism is welcome wording for a fanbase paranoid about losing its star. However,\u00a0Pittsburgh\u2019s\u00a0hesitancy is understandable. Watt is on the wrong side of 30 and didn\u2019t produce like an elite edge rusher in 2024.<\/p>\n

That isn\u2019t necessarily a sign of some steep decline, and Watt\u2019s 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\u2019s a real chance the contract becomes a bad one rather quickly.<\/p>\n

“The issue with this is a big swing with\u00a0Aaron Rodgers,\u201d Palmer said. \u201cThey 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.”<\/p>\n

If Watt\u2019s decline has already arrived, the Steelers \u2013 who are still favored to extend him \u2013 are in trouble. They\u2019ll 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.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Pittsburgh Steelers know edge rusher T.J. Watt is waiting for an expensive deal, but how much are they willing to guarantee him? It is hard to… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":57265,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-57264","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"\nBREAKING: Insider Reveals Key to Steelers Extending T.J. Watt.. - 24\/7 News America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=57264\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"BREAKING: Insider Reveals Key to Steelers Extending T.J. 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