Most updates from the top NFL insiders don’t paint a great picture when it comes to negotiations between the Pittsburgh Steelers and All-Pro edge rusher T.J. Watt. But despite all the rumblings, NFL personality Rich Eisen suggested he just can’t wrap his head around Watt and the Steelers not agreeing to a contract extension before the 2025 NFL regular season.
Eisen argued on his show Tuesday the two sides will not end their relationship with a trade this offseason.
“I would be stunned if they say ‘We’re trading him’ after all of this,” Eisen said. “‘We can’t figure it out; we can’t find a number. We cannot in any way, shape or form, sign you to this contract that you’re looking for because down the road we’re going to regret it when the road and the rubber meeting it is now.”
Eisen implied there isn’t a team in the league who wouldn’t want Watt, which is why he’s the subject of trade rumor articles that name the best landing spots for him. But Eisen continuously stressed the likelihood of a trade is slim.
“Google it all you want. Look at all those articles about best landing spots for T.J. Watt,” Eisen said. “It’s anywhere they play football in the NFL, and No. 2, it’s not going to happen.”
Watt is entering the final season of the four-year contract extension he signed with the Steelers in 2021. Watt didn’t participate in the team’s offseason program or attend the Steelers mandatory minicamp in June.
Why Rich Eisen Says Steelers Will Sign T.J. Watt to Contract Extension
When Mason Rudolph and Skylar Thompson were the only quarterbacks on the Steelers roster, and Pittsburgh chose to only add Will Howard in the NFL Draft, pundits questioned whether the Steelers were tanking the 2025 season.
The narrative has now completely flipped. Eisen insinuated the team’s offseason moves have indicated the Steelers are all-in on 2025.
With that the case, it wouldn’t make sense for the Steelers to trade Watt.
“After you go and get Rodgers, after you go and trade for DK Metcalf and give him the richest contract in Steelers history at that position,” Eisen said. “You go and trade for Jalen Ramsey, who’s pretty damn expensive. You give him a million and a half dollar raise. Welcome to the team. And you bring in Jonnu Smith and triple his salary. Here’s a $12 million deal, welcome to the team. You were only making $4, now you’re making $12, you go and get Darius Slay; you run it back with Cameron Heyward.
“You draft, not a quarterback in the first round, you draft a defensive tackle because that’s an area of need, you do all of this, to win now, and T.J. Watt is not going to walk because the Steelers tell him, ‘You’re done now.’
“I can’t see that. I just don’t see it. It would be the silliest thing to do. Because of what he means to the team, what he means to the city, what he means to those fans, but again, most importantly, what he means to this team. They’re a different team on defense, they’re a different team period, when he’s not out there.”
Why Negotiations Haven’t Been Smooth for Steelers With their Top Edge Rusher
Interestingly, Pittsburgh’s efforts to go all-in on 2025 could be part of Watt’s displeasure with the Steelers.
“Watt appears to be unhappy with the fact that look, you’re bringing in all these other players,” Fowler said on ESPN’s Get Up, via Steelers Depot’s Alex Kozora. “You’re bringing in these veterans, and you’re paying DK Metcalf, Jalen Ramsey’s a big salary.
“That could be money that’s allocated to me.”
On one hand, that’s understandable. Watt needs a new contract, and him seeing the Steelers prioritize other players this offseason might have been a hard thing to accept.
At the same time, though, the Steelers had to undergo major roster changes to reload for a potential playoff run this winter. That should be important to the edge rusher too. Watt has never won a playoff game in his career.
Getting paid is important. According to Eisen, that will happen for Watt in Pittsburgh. Waiting for the payday, though, may have been necessary to help prevent Watt’s Steelers legacy from being the best player in team history to never win a playoff game.
Negotiations Could Continue at NFL Training Camp
Now, just because Eisen sees the Steelers and Watt agreeing to a deal doesn’t mean there won’t be tough negotiations.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac, reported on Eisen’s show Tuesday that Steelers-Watt negotiations could continue into training camp. That report came on the heels of ESPN’s Adam Schefter saying Monday that the two sides aren’t close to a new deal.
In 2021, Watt didn’t sign his contract extension until days before the regular season. That possibility is seemingly on the table.
In a perfect world, the Steelers and Watt will agree to an extension before training camp. That might not happen. But Eisen still doesn’t see Watt’s tenure in Pittsburgh ending with a summer trade.
For what it’s worth, neither does Dulac. The Steelers insider added a Watt trade is not “on the radar” for the team.
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