Steelers not 'close' to signing T.J. Watt before Week 1?
Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin told reporters Tuesday that he was "optimistic" star pass-rusher T.J. Watt would agree to terms with the franchise on a new deal and practice in a team setting on Wednesday ahead of Sunday's regular-season opener at the Buffalo Bills.
While Watt may practice, NFL Network's Aditi Kinkhabwala previously reported disagreements between the parties about the amount of guaranteed money attached to a proposed new deal could "sink" negotiations ahead of Week 1.
Kinkhabwala elaborated during an appearance on Pittsburgh radio station 93.7 The Fan:
As bad as that sounds for members of the Pittsburgh faithful, ESPN's Jeremy Fowler later explained:
Watt is a two-time first-team All-Pro who led the NFL last season with 15 sacks and has produced other impressive stats over the past several years:
The Steelers are a win-now team with 39-year-old Ben Roethlisberger serving as QB1 for maybe his last season as an active NFL player. In short, it behooves Pittsburgh to get Watt game-ready as quickly as possible before he turns his so-called hold-in into an official holdout this weekend.
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