As the Steelers have another contract issue with Cameron Heyward, the other half of the team’s longstanding pass-rushing duo will attempt to follow his career path. T.J. Watt, the second member of the NFL’s $40MM-per-year defender club, is not aiming to call it quits in the near future.
Although T.J. Watt watched brother J.J. Watt retire at 33 due largely to a heart condition, the All-Pro Steelers defender does not plan on retiring anytime soon. The recently extended outside linebacker said (via the Pat McAfee Show’s Mark Kaboly) he will aim to follow Heyward’s path and play several more seasons.
Entering Year 9, Watt already appears to have done enough to secure Hall of Fame entry. The 2017 first-round pick is a four-time first-team All-Pro, matching Michael Strahan‘s official single-season sack record and doing so in just 15 games back in 2021. While J.J. Watt is the only player in NFL history to have two official 20-sack seasons, T.J. nearly landed there after following up his 22.5-sack slate with a 19-sack 2023. T.J. Watt is the only NFLer to lead the league in sacks three times.
Watt’s third contract — a three-year, $123MM deal with a whopping $108MM guaranteed at signing — runs through the 2028 season. Staying at, or even near, his current form will call for another record — or near-record — payday by 2028. The Steelers neither negotiate in-season or hammer out extensions for non-contract-year players; this complicates Heyward’s contract quest ahead of his age-36 season. Watt (31 in October), however, has been able to bend the team on post-Year 1 guarantees — a path the organization does not like to traverse.
In terms of official sacks (since 1982), T.J. Watt is already in 31st (108) on the list. He is 15 away from the top 20. Motoring to a lucrative fourth contract, provided he can stay close to the stratospheric pace he has started on, could move the Steeler sack ace onto hallowed ground. Tenth place (Richard Dent/John Randle) is less than 30 sacks away (137.5). The only active players ahead of Watt on the list are much closer to the end of their respective careers — Von Miller (129.5), Cameron Jordan (121.5), Calais Campbell (110.5).
Shifting to Pittsburgh’s inside linebacker position, Patrick Queen looks close to having a new full-time running mate. Payton Wilson, a 2024 third-round pick, appears likely to see his usage increase from the 45% snap share he earned as a rookie. The NC State product — the 2023 Butkus award winner — is believed to be “miles ahead” in the race to play alongside Queen, Kaboly adds. Wilson started four of 17 games last season.
The Steelers also have Cole Holcomb and Malik Harrison at linebacker, but neither is projected to be a regular option at this point. Holcomb signed with the team to work as such and had been a starter before a severe knee injury, sustained in November 2023, kept him off the field throughout 2024. After a pay-cut agreement, Holcomb is due a nonguaranteed $2MM this year. The Steelers can cut the former Washington starter free of charge until his salary becomes guaranteed shortly before Week 1.
Harrison started 34 games with the Ravens, including seven last season after he eventually became the team’s Queen replacement alongside Roquan Smith. The Ravens let Harrison walk, and the Steelers added him on a two-year, $10MM deal. Harrison, 27, figures to have a role. But Pro Football Focus, on the strength of Wilson’s coverage ability, graded him as a top-20 ILB as a rookie. PFF slotted Wilson as a top-10 off-ball LB in coverage. Harrison does stand to provide insurance against Wilson not ascending as the Steelers hope.
Pittsburgh cleared a path for Wilson by letting two-year ILB starter Elandon Roberts defect to Las Vegas in free agency. Wilson and Roberts, though, had effectively split time. The latter carried a 44% snap rate in 2024. Wilson, who entered the NFL after having suffered season-ending injuries twice in college, is signed through the 2027 season. His rookie-deal terms complement Watt, Queen and Alex Highsmith, and it appears this season will provide a test to see if he can handle a busier role.