NFL Trade Rumors
Jeremy Fowler of ESPN made an appearance on SportsCenter on Saturday and gave an update on Steelers LB T.J. Watt.
Fowler spoke to someone with the team who said they are working on the contract extension and want Watt in Pittsburgh. Fowler also mentioned that while there would be interest in Watt should the team wish to trade him, they do not intend to and will likely make him the highest-paid edge rusher in the league.
Pittsburgh has historically dealt with contract extensions heading into training camp or closer to Week 1 of the regular season, leading Fowler to say this situation is still far from over.
Watt’s contract situation is also said to be holding up other star pass rushers from signing their respective deals, such as the Bengals with DE Trey Hendrickson and the Cowboys with LB Micah Parsons.
Tom Pelissero previously reported the Steelers have no intention of trading Watt, and their focus remains on signing him to a new deal. Nick Farabaugh also received an emphatic and explicit denial from a Steelers source about the idea of trading Watt.
However, some still believe a trade remains in the realm of possibility after they shipped S Minkah Fitzpatrick to the Dolphins. Adam Schefter also mentioned that teams in the league were having discussions about making a run at acquiring Watt.
Watt skipped mandatory minicamp to express his displeasure with talks, and had an interesting post on social media earlier this offseason in which he appeared to be flashing the “peace out” sign to Pittsburgh.
Dianna Russini relays that a GM pointed out to her that Pittsburgh agreeing to give CB Jalen Ramsey a raise before he even played a snap for the team would likely not sit well with Watt.
Multiple reports have noted there’s a logjam of high-profile pass rushers in need of contract extensions this offseason, and they all seem to be holding each other up as each waits for the other to move the market forward.
Watt, 30, is a former first-round pick of the Steelers back in 2017. He played out his four-year, $9.258 million contract and made a base salary of $1.72 million in 2020.
Pittsburgh exercised Watt’s fifth-year option for $10.089 million in 2021. He then signed a four-year extension worth over $112 million with the Steelers that included $80 million fully guaranteed at signing.
In 2024, Watt appeared in all 17 games and recorded 61 total tackles, 19 tackles for loss, 11.5 sacks, six forced fumbles, two recoveries, and four pass defenses.
We’ll have more on Watt as the news becomes available.
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