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Following months of anxious tension, T.J. Watt finally resolved his offseason holdout by signing a $123 million extension to remain with the Pittsburgh Steelers. While the signing allowed fans to breathe a sigh of relief, Watt gave them a hint just hours before by posting a picture with teammate Nick Herbig.
Watt shared a post-workout photo with Herbig on his Instagram story. While not at the Steelers’ facilities, the picture gave fans hope that his re-signing was imminent, which it proved to be in just a matter of hours.
TJ Watt and Nick Herbig getting in some work together via Watt’s IG story.
The Steelers report to Latrobe for camp on Wednesday. pic.twitter.com/zUpCVMBhBN
— Brooke Pryor (@bepryor) July 17, 2025
Watt and Herbig have been teammates for the last two seasons, since Pittsburgh selected the latter in the fourth round of the 2023 NFL Draft. Since then, they have led one of the league’s best pass-rushing units on the Steelers’ defense, along with Alex Highsmith. Watt, Highsmith and Herbig combined for 25.5 sacks in 2024.
Watt’s new deal makes him the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history. That record has been broken numerous times in the 2025 offseason, with the 30-year-old linebacker now owning that honor.
Watt, who is quickly approaching the end of his physical prime, will now officially report to the Steelers’ training camp. As the team’s top returning defender, Pittsburgh now expects him to lead an elite defensive unit in 2025.
Coming off another solid season, the Steelers return top defenders Watt, Highsmith, Herbig, Cameron Heyward and Joey Porter Jr. They added Jalen Ramsey, Derrick Harmon, Darius Slay and Juan Thornhill in the offseason to improve themselves in 2025.
The focus of the Steelers’ upcoming season will be on the free agent signing of Aaron Rodgers, but Pittsburgh will go as far as its defense takes it. They are coming off consecutive 10-win seasons but have failed to advance past the Wild Card round since they secured a first-round bye in 2017.
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