Total Pro Sports
Pittsburgh Steelers star linebacker TJ Watt is entering the final year of his contract, and the lack of an extension has made him the subject of offseason trade rumors.
TJ Watt has one season left on the lucrative four-year, $112 million extension he signed in 2021. The Steelers rarely let a franchise superstar start a season in a contract year, so the lack of an extension for Watt up to this point is certainly newsworthy.
The Steelers are supposed to be in win-now mode after acquiring Aaron Rodgers, DK Metcalf and Jalen Ramsey in a trio of blockbuster moves. Would GM Omar Khan really consider shopping his franchise star?
During an appearance on 93.7 The Fan in Pittsburgh, The Pat McAfee Show Steelers correspondent Mark Kaboly reported that the Steelers are doing their “due diligence” on TJ Watt’s trade value:
“I’m just saying, (the Steelers) are obviously inquiring what that might be. If it gets to the point where it’s a point of no return, maybe that second-round pick becomes very handsome.”
In their history, the Steelers have rarely let a player leave via trade or free agency in their prime, unless it was a bizarre case like Antonio Brown or Le’Veon Bell. It’s still difficult to imagine Watt in another jersey, but the Steelers are better off trading the future Hall of Famer rather than risk losing him for nothing in free agency.
Until/unless an extension is announced, the 30-year-old TJ Watt will continue to dominate the trade rumor mill.
The new-look Steelers will kick off the 2025 season on the road against the New York Jets on Sept. 7. That game, fittingly, will see Rodgers vs. Justin Fields in a showdown of quarterbacks who played on the opposing side a year ago.
