If the Pittsburgh Steelers want to sign TJ Watt to a long-term extension, it's going to cost them. Given the deals handed out to Maxx Crosby and Myles Garrett just this offseason, Watt is next in line to receive a raise. Watt is on the wrong side of 30, which may cause the Steelers some hesitancy, but their defense would be lost without him. Right or wrong, Pittsburgh is committed to winning. That involves Watt playing on a high price tag.
Micah Parsons of the Dallas Cowboys will more than likely start the season as the highest-paid defensive player in the NFL. Watt slides somewhere among the top tier – perhaps less than the $40 million per season handed to Garrett, but more than the $33 million AAV Crosby is set to earn.
"Hendrickson, Watt, I think they'll be in the Crosby, Garrett range," ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter said on Tuesday's episode of ESPN's Unsportsmanlike. "Somewhere in there. Micah Parsons, I expect to become the highest-paid defensive player in NFL history. That's the deal that I expect to trump the other deals."
ESPN admits something Steelers fans have long known about TJ Watt
The good news for the Steelers is that Watt won't cause the same drama as his rival Garrett. Garrett demanded a trade out of Cleveland during Super Bowl media week, and then took interviews about his actions, nearly overshadowing the game itself. Watt typically handles these matters in private. During his last contract negotiation with the Steelers, he sat out of OTAs and eventually some of training camp, but did not make a ruckus.
A Watt extension will get done at some point. That's just how these two parties operate. Watt trusts his agent to land him a fair offer, while the Steelers trust Watt to show up ready to play when the season starts. Another of ESPN's talking heads offered an optimistic view of the Watt contract talks.
"I know both sides are really motivated to get something done here. They don't want to go into training camp and have this thing drag on," Peter Schrager said in a Tuesday appearance on thePat McAfee Show. "From what I'm told, both sides want it to get done."
Steelers and TJ Watt both want to get a new deal done
And why wouldn't they? The Steelers are in win-now mode, and clearly better when Watt is on the field. Pittsburgh also knows that there's little chance they'd receive fair market value for Watt, especially after the Browns shopped Garrett to no avail. Watt is older and slightly less productive than Garrett at this point in his career.
The good news for Watt is that he certainly isn't the most dramatic storyline for the Steelers this offseason. No, that would belong to Aaron Rodgers, who signed just over a week ago and reported to OTAs. The benefit to having Rodgers in the fold is that the Steelers can work on their primary remaining offseason objective under the cover of darkness.