After a flurry of moves this offseason, the Pittsburgh Steelers have one thing left on the docket. Their star pass rusher, T.J. Watt, is going into the final year of his contract and already skipped mandatory minicamp last month.
Steelers defensive lineman Cam Heyward knows what contract disputes can be like after going through one last offseason. He eventually got his extension, but it wasn’t easy. Appearing Wednesday on The Rich Eisen Show, Heyward shared his thoughts on Watt’s situation.
“Man, that’s my brother,” Heyward said. “I want that dude to get paid what he deserves. That dude is one of the most fierce, and best, players in our league. And he’s respected throughout the league. I’ve had the best time being able to play with him, and I hope this year is not the last time we play together, because that dude, that’s my running mate, and we create a lot of havoc together. And I just want to see that guy continue to be a Pittsburgh Steeler, and be a one helmet guy.”
Heyward and Watt have a huge amount of respect for each other, and the entire locker room would likely share Heyward’s sentiment about the latter. Last time Watt and the Steelers had a dispute like this, it took all the way up until the start of the regular season for things to get figured out. This time around, things could be even more complicated.
The impact Watt makes is impossible to ignore. Pittsburgh just doesn’t win when he’s not on the field, and Watt makes his presence felt consistently, against both the run and pass. However, there are a few more wrinkles in these negotiations.
Potentially the biggest wrinkle is Watt’s age. He’s not old or past his prime yet. However, now that he’s past the age of 30, any long-term contract he signs is going to take him well into his mid-30s. At that point, his skills could very well could start to decline. That, plus the fact that his pass-rushing numbers dropped in 2024, give the Steelers some tough decisions to make.
While nothing substantive has shown that Pittsburgh would consider trading him, that doesn’t stop anybody from speculating. Heyward doesn’t think a trade would be a good idea, to say the least.
“I’m going up to Omar [Khan] and I’m telling him, ‘That’s not happening,’” Heyward joked. “If there’s even a trade that gets up there. I don’t think it helps our team to trade a guy like that.”
Of all the outcomes Pittsburgh could have in this situation, trading Watt makes the least sense. They have some depth behind him but coming off a down year (by his standards) with only one year left on his contract and being past the age of 30 the return just isn’t going to be worth it.
Training camp is just a week away. Whether Watt shows up or not will tell us plenty about the mood regarding these negotiations. Mark Kaboly has hinted that guaranteed money could be a holdup, which would make sense. Either way, both sides hope to reach an agreement soon, just like Heyward does.
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