A Tuesday report revealed that the Pittsburgh Steelers and unsettled pass-rusher T.J. Watt “are really motivated to get something done” regarding what seems to be an inevitable contract extension before Pittsburgh players report to training camp on July 23.
During a Wednesday update that aired on Bleacher Report’s YouTube channel, NFL insider James Palmer indicated that the Steelers and Watt disagree on how much guaranteed money the one-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award winner should receive via his next deal.
“The Steelers’ argument is this: that Watt and the defense kind of fell off a little bit the back end of last year,” Palmer explained, as shared by Troy Montgomery of Steelers Depot. “He’s had some injuries. He’s battled through them. He’s going to be 31 years old (in October). Do you give $100M guaranteed to somebody like that? I think that’s where this battle’s going to happen, but I think a deal is going to end up happening.”
Injury setbacks limited Watt to 10 games during the 2022 season, but he recorded
11.5 sacks over 17 contests this past campaign. That said, his final sack last season occurred in Week 15, and he was responsible for zero traditional stats during Pittsburgh’s wild-card playoff loss to the Baltimore Ravens after he appeared to hurt his arm/wrist during that contest.
Watt is in the final year of the extension he signed ahead of the 2021 season.
Per Ryan Phillips of Sports Illustrated, ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter said during a Wednesday appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” that he doesn’t believe Watt will get a better deal than the four-year, $160M contract extension that included $123.5M guaranteed that Myles Garrett of the Cleveland Browns inked in March. Schefter also said he “can’t imagine that T.J. Watt wouldn’t be there for the start of training camp and Pittsburgh would not get a deal done.”
It’s unclear if Dallas Cowboys star Micah Parsons resetting the market by signing a new deal at any point this summer would cause Watt to alter his asking price. While Palmer added that he’s confident a deal between Watt and the Steelers “is most likely going to get done,” it sounds like the two sides are still engaged in back-and-forth conversations regarding the guaranteed money attached to the expected extension.
