Steelers Now
The Pittsburgh Steelers and All-Pro outside linebacker T.J. Watt are reportedly not very close to a deal as he’s entering the final year of his contract. If the two sides can reach an agreement before the start of the season, things could get ugly. Would T.J. Watt holdout during the season? Or would the Steelers to the unthinkable and trade the All-Pro edge rusher.
All options could be on the table. If the Steelers decide to move on from Watt, former NFL wide receiver James Jones thinks Pittsburgh is in for a rude awakening.
“It’s disrespectful,” Jones said on Monday’s episode of The Facility. “It is disrespectful, man. We give coach [Mike] Tomlin a lot of credit for getting to the playoffs every year, right? Or not having a losing season. We give him a lot of credit for that. If you don’t have this boy [Watt], you gonna have a lot of losing seasons. You see Myles Garrett and Maxx Crosby get extensions. And you could argue that [Watt] colder them dudes. T.J. Watt is getting disrespected right now.
“If 90 [Watt] ain’t there, scratch it off. You’re not going nowhere, if 90s not there. Could you imagine, the quarterbacks they’ve had, and no T.J. Watt? Come on man, they would be the Browns.”
In one-score games since 2021, T.J. Watt ranks first in sacks (43), forced fumbles (12) and batted passes (14), according to Pro Football Focus. There’s no doubt about it, losing Watt would be astronomical. He has single-handedly won games for the Steelers over the last five years.
T.J. Watt shows up in the clutch 🧊 pic.twitter.com/F23Z587fcg
— PFF (@PFF) July 12, 2025
Watt is currently scheduled to make just $21.05 million in salary in 2025, none of which is guaranteed.
Meanwhile, Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett was just made the highest paid non-quarterback in NFL history this offseason with a contract extension that pays him $40 million per year.
That is likely the number Watt is trying to match or break, but some don’t believe he’s worth that much money coming off the least-productive full season of his NFL career.
However, the former NFL Defensive Player of the Year still proved to be a difference maker in 2024 while recording 11.5 sacks and a league-leading six forced fumbles.
ESPN NFL insider Jeremy Fowler recently revealed the big holdup with Watt in his contract dispute with the Steelers. It has to do with guaranteed money and it’s term length.
“Well, people I’ve talked to around the league believe it’s guaranteed money, it’s term length,” Fowler said on SportsCenter. “A lot of the details, they get sticky this time of year, especially as you’re leading up to training camp. I talked to somebody with the team who said, ‘Look, these are complicated deals to do, but we are working on it. We want T.J. Watt here.’ There’s not a lot of traction right now as far as a potential trade — although there...
