Sportsnaut
One NFL insider believes that the Pittsburgh Steelers are in no rush to hand out a huge new contract to star pass rusher TJ Watt because they feel his replacement is already on the roster.
Seven-time Pro Bowler enters the 2025 campaign in the final year of his contract. With training camp a month away, the two sides have yet to get close on a new pact. In a new chat with Sportsnaut, veteran NFL insider Adam Caplan suggested the emergence of Nick Herbig may be playing a role in the slow progress of contract talks.
“At his age, and his injury history, you gotta be careful here. Now, they really like Nick Herbig, who’s a fourth-rounder from two years ago. He’s one of the better third edge rushers in the NFL, that fans, unless you’re a Steelers fan, don’t know about. He’s really good,” Caplan told Sportsnaut. He could be Watt’s successor years down the road here.
“But Herbig is in the third year of his four-year rookie deal… [Watt] turns 31 by the way in October. So he turns 31 this season. The Steelers typically do contract structures this way. It’s one with a huge signing bonus, one year fully guaranteed base salary, and they typically don’t guarantee salaries after that,” he added. “So it’s not gonna be easy to get through this contract.”
The former Wisconsin star posted 5.5 sacks and 11 QB hits last season in 13 games. He will only make just over $1 million this upcoming season and in 2026.
While Caplan expects contract talks to be difficult, it isn’t impossible that the team feels the legendary pass rusher needs to be locked into a multi-year deal with guarantees beyond year one. Because he claims the NFL has always proved there are exceptions when it comes to the contracts of elite stars.
“He’s worth extending and being taken care of… I expect them to get this done, [but] it could take a little bit of time,” Caplan said. “I’m not like fans and some of the media who make a big deal of this stuff. These things usually get done. There is sometimes a little bit of short-term pain. It’s unfortunate, but you know that’s just the way it is.
“With Watts last deal, they actually went outside their structure. I think they did three years of fully guaranteed money. They rarely do that. I always say in the NFL, with anything, there are exceptions. You have to understand that teams are allowed to change their mind,” he added. “They’re human beings. They can change their mind if they want to.”
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