NFL analyst believes other teams need to see how badly the Steelers want to keep T.J. Watt after 'not the best season last year'
T.J. Watt is the Pittsburgh Steelers. The very fabric of what it means to wear the Black and Gold, he will go down on the Mt. Rushmore of players to donn said colors. But when you're in the purgatory the Steelers are, and you have a player of his caliber approaching the final year of […]
T.J. Watt is the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The very fabric of what it means to wear the Black and Gold, he will go down on the Mt. Rushmore of players to donn said colors.
But when you're in the purgatory the Steelers are, and you have a player of his caliber approaching the final year of his deal, questions start to be raised regarding the availability of said asset on the open market.
And according to Ben Solak of ESPN, that exact thing should be happening right about now…
Teams should be calling about T.J. Watt?
"T.J. Watt's only got one year left on his deal and I feel like I would just want to make sure the Steelers are aware he only has one year left on his deal and if they don't want to extend him, be aware that other teams would be willing to extend him if they want to ship him over there," said Solak on the Up & Adams show. "It was not the best T.J. Watt season last year. So I wonder if the Steelers are worried about the age a little bit. He was not as fast off the ball, and not as productive. He's $30 million [a year], so it's a weird spot."
Now before we get into the idea of trading Watt, there needs to be some kind of context added to his statement regarding Watt's 2024 campaign. In the first half of the season, he was a runaway favorite for Defensive Player of the Year.
He did lose some juice down the stretch, there much is not up for debate. Know why? He played through a low ankle injury that plagued him from the end of the season through the playoffs.
And yes, Watt is over 30, makes a lot of money, and is headed into the final year of his deal. But despite his "down season" he still recorded double-digit sacks, made the Pro Bowl yet again, was a second-team All-Pro, and finished fourth in Defensive Player of the Year voting.
So it's a cute idea, but I'd bet that if Omar Khan's phone rang and the questions were about T.J. Watt, he'd either hang up or laugh and then hang up.
