Eight seasons into a career that has firmly established him as one of the NFL’s most elite players, Pittsburgh Steelers star T.J. Watt faces an uncertain future with the team.
Despite his consistently stellar performance, the two sides have not made progress on a long-term extension as Watt enters the final year of his contract.
Even his brother, NFL legend and sure Hall of Famer J.J. Watt, expressed surprise at the lack of movement on a deal.
“T.J. has one year left on his deal so he’d be a free agent after next year.. I don’t know many people that are going into the last year of their contract like that,” J.J. said on The Pat McAfee Show.
J.J. also touched on the challenges T.J. faces on the field and hinted at possible adjustments the Steelers could make to maximize his impact.
“I do think that he knows that there could be some moving around,” J.J. added. “Because it’s very, very clear that there is heavy keying in on exactly where he is going to be.
“Just throwing a significant number of bodies at him and putting obstacles in the way. Moving around certainly does help that. That’s something he’s recently said he’s open to in the future and going to work on.”
T.J. Watt’s performance in 2024 underscored his value.
He finished the season with 61 total tackles, 11.5 sacks, and a league-high six forced fumbles, along with two fumble recoveries, four pass deflections, and 14.5 stuffs.
Despite these achievements, Watt has made it clear that changes are necessary for the Steelers to improve.
“It gets more and more frustrating as the years go by. Tough conversations need to be had. We can’t keep doing the same thing and expect different results. That’s starting with myself,” Watt said.
The uncertainty surrounding Watt’s future has led some to believe that the Steelers could look to trade him.
Of course, that’s very hard to imagine happening. After all, in addition to Mike Tomlin, Watt is the face of the franchise.
Having said that, should Pittsburgh consider trading Watt if they could get a king’s ransom in return?
Or are you like me and find it near-impossible to envision T.J. Watt ever wearing a non-Steelers uniform??
