According to Adam Schefter, other teams have been having discussions about making a run at trading for Steelers OLB T.J. Watt, and Schefter expects buzz around Watt to increase after Pittsburgh’s move for CB Jalen Ramsey.
However, Tom Pelissero reports the Steelers have no intention of trading Watt and their focus remains on signing him to a new deal, citing sources. Nick Farabaugh also received an emphatic and explicit denial from a Steelers source about the idea of trading Watt.
Schefter pointed out the Steelers have shown zero appetite for trading Watt so far but the two sides have not been able to reach an agreement on a contract extension as Watt heads into the last year of his deal.
Watt skipped mandatory minicamp to express his displeasure with talks, and had an interesting post on social media earlier this offseason in which he appeared to be flashing the “peace out” sign to Pittsburgh.
Dianna Russini relays that a GM pointed out to her that Pittsburgh agreeing to give Ramsey a raise before he even played a snap for the team would likely not sit well with Watt.
At first glance, it wouldn’t seem to make a whole lot of sense for the Steelers to trade away Watt given how intent they appear to be on contending this season. But they were willing to trade away S Minkah Fitzpatrick as part of the Ramsey deal and shake up their defense in a big way.
Multiple reports have noted there’s a logjam of high-profile pass rushers in need of contract extensions this offseason, and they all seem to be holding each other up as each waits for the other to move the market forward.
Watt, 30, is a former first-round pick of the Steelers back in 2017. He played out his four-year, $9.258 million contract and made a base salary of $1.72 million in 2020.
Pittsburgh exercised Watt’s fifth-year option for $10.089 million in 2021. He then signed a four-year extension worth over $112 million with the Steelers that included $80 million fully guaranteed at signing.
In 2024, Watt appeared in all 17 games and recorded 61 total tackles, 19 tackles for loss, 11.5 sacks, six forced fumbles, two recoveries, and four pass defenses.
We’ll have more on Watt as the news becomes available.
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