Steelers' Cameron Heyward addresses T.J. Watt skipping mandatory minicamp amid contract saga

Pittsburgh Steelers star pass-rusher T.J. Watt seemed to say plenty about his desire for a contract extension when he skipped the team's mandatory minicamp this week. 

On Wednesday, longtime Steelers defensive lineman and team captain Cameron Heyward addressed Watt's springtime absences. 

"There's no reason for teammates to ever get drawn into it, and T.J. is doing a good job of that," Heyward said, as shared by Jake Brockhoff of Steelers Depot. "...I think every situation is different, and through time, you wish everything was settled. From a player's perspective, you always want your teammates taken care of as soon as possible, so you can just worry about football."

Watt completed a "hold-in" during training camp in the summer of 2021 until he received a four-year extension worth over $112M that included $80M in fully guaranteed money. Now in the last season of that agreement, Watt is likely looking for a pay raise after Myles Garrett of the Cleveland Browns signed a four-year, $160M extension that included $123.5M guaranteed earlier this offseason. 

As Bob Labriola of the Steelers' website noted, Heyward reported to training camp on time last summer when he was negotiating an extension with the organization. Heyward practiced throughout camp and ultimately received his deal before Week 1 of the 2024 campaign arrived.  

"It's a lot of angst, lot of anxiety," Heyward said about experiencing an offseason contract saga. "It's tough because you want to be a team player, you want to do right by the team. But you also want to know your worth...You want to be a steward. You want to be in the right place. But if you're not getting the respect you deserve, it's gonna create hostility." 

A Wednesday report indicated that the Watt situation "is gonna drag on for quite some time" and won't be settled between the start of Pittsburgh's summer break and the start of training camp in July. Watt showed with his actions that he's willing to accept fines that come with missing mandatory minicamp sessions, but it was unclear if he'd report to training camp without having signed an extension.