Packers have timely chance to fix years-old mistake thanks to offseason drama, and it could bring a major star to Green Bay

The second is that the Packers philosophically don't like trading away future picks for veteran players, and Watt is 30 years old already.

"When you trade a high pick for a veteran player, you're trading a young, really good contract for a player who's proven, but probably expensive, so you're giving up a pick and salary cap space," general manager Brian Gutekunst said after last season. "You gotta weigh that. If it's the right player, if you can feel he can be a dynamic player that can change your football team, you gotta consider that, because there's not many of those guys out there. But you also have to understand what you're giving up."

The thing is: Watt is that type of player, and he skipped the Steelers' mandatory minicamp looking for a contract extension.

Why it would make sense for the Packers

Usually, it's inconceivable for Green Bay to consider a huge move like this — we even wrote here at A to Z Sports that a trade for Trey Hendrickson would be completely out of character for the Packers. But T.J. Watt is different.

They both entered the NFL in the same year and have had amazing careers, but Watt is clearly the better player by a consistent margin. Watt has had more sacks (108 vs. 77), more tackles for loss (126 vs. 71), more pressures (478 vs. 405), and Watt even has had seven interceptions.

Watt is also from Wisconsin, which makes everything much more intriguing from a human standpoint. It's not an easy solution for anyone involved, and finding the right draft compensation for the Steelers is tricky considering that he only has a year left on his deal and will demand an extension that would put him as the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history.

But it's not unfeasible.

What a contract would look like

Right now, the highest-paid non-QB in football is Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase, who's making $40.25 million per year. The highest-paid defender is Cleveland Browns edge rusher Myles Garrett, at $40 million. Realistically, Watt would demand something around $41 million a season. That's, no question about it, a lot of money even for NFL standards.

However, this is new money. Combining that with Watt's final year of his current deal, the new contract would certainly be much more palatable for the Packers.

Let's say Watt agrees to a three-year extension, tying him to Green Bay for four years. In new money, it would be a three-year, $123 million contract ($41 million average per year). In total, it's a four-year, $144.05 million deal, since he is slated to make $21.05 million in 2025. The average goes down to $36.01 million. It's still a lot of money, but much more manageable from a cap perspective.

The Packers don't give much (or any) guarantees beyond the signing bonus for non-quarterbacks, so the deal would have a significant initial pay, around $45 million, and roster bonus in Years 2 and 3 to reinforce Watt's cash flow.

Even without adding void years, the Year 1 cap hit with a $45 million signing bonus plus the $1.255 million minimum base salary could be as low as $12.505 million, which the Packers can easily absorb after releasing Jaire Alexander. Green Bay would probably opt to take a bigger hit in 2025 to avoid future damage.

T.J. Watt was the NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2021, he's been a First-Team All-Pro four times and a Second-Team All-Pro twice. It would absolutely be a huge investment, and something the Packers might not usually make. But after making the huge mistake of trading down when Watt was available in the 2017 draft, later selecting Kevin King, a monster trade to reinforce Jeff Hafley's defense right now with an elite pass rusher wouldn't sound so absurd.