Myles Garrett trade demand should scare the Steelers straight about TJ Watt

Browns star Myles Garrett asked for a trade out of Cleveland on Monday morning, shocking the NFL landscape at the start of Super Bowl week. Garrett has spent his entire career with the Browns, but as he enters his age-30 season, he's nowhere near holding a Lombardi trophy of his own.

"While I've loved calling this city my home, my desire to win and compete on the biggest stages won't allow me to be complacent. The goal was never to go from Cleveland to Canton, it has always been to compete for and win a Super Bowl...With that in mind, I have requested to be traded from the Cleveland Browns," Garrett wrote.

The Browns downfall started when they opted to trade for embattled Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson prior to the 2022 season, and then gave him a record-breaking contract despite the sexual misconduct allegations against him. Watson was suspended 11 games and settled out of court, while the Browns have been the black sheep of the NFL ever since.

Steelers can't afford to waste any more of TJ Watt's time

While Steelers fans were rightly celebrated the possible exit of Garrett, one of their biggest rivals the last few years, they should also take his trade request as a warning. Pittsburgh has a premiere pass rusher of its own in TJ Watt who is tired of losing. Watt has not won a playoff game in his career, which is hard to believe given he started playing with the Steelers in 2017. Watt and the Steelers have high expectations every year only to fall short, and this season they lost five straight games to end the campaign if you include a playoff defeat to Baltimore.

Pittsburgh does little to help Watt, sticking him on one side of the line, forcing him to face double teams down the stretch. Watt struggled to end the season, barely registering an impact the final three weeks of the season. The Steelers could move Watt around the line of scrimmage, much like the Browns do with Garrett and the Cowboys with Micah Parsons. The best pass rushers in the NFL should be employed as defensive weapon, not stuck in purgatory and forced to go through two or even three offensive linemen before reaching the quarterback.

I find it hard to believe Pittsburgh would ever trade Watt – he is beloved in the Steel city, and the team is competitive enough to keep him engaged. But if the 30-year-old feels his own football mortality slipping away much like Garrett does in Cleveland, the Steelers could be between a rock and a hard place.