What analyst finds 'interesting' about Steelers, T.J. Watt situation

Pittsburgh Steelers edge-rusher Alex Highsmith insisted last week that star pass-rusher T.J. Watt "loves being in Pittsburgh" amid questions regarding Watt's contract status.  

Nevertheless, there has been no indication that Watt and the Steelers are close to reaching a deal on an extension. 

For an article published on Tuesday, ESPN's Ben Solak suggested the Watt-Steelers situation could be one to follow from the final weeks of springtime workouts through the team's summer break.

"I am not ringing any alarm bells," Solak wrote, "but I find it interesting that T.J. Watt is in the final year of his deal with pretty much no smoke about an upcoming extension. I find this doubly interesting when you consider that he [turns 31 years old in October] and is coming off his worst season as a pro. And I find it triply interesting that Watt has never won a playoff game with the Steelers, who may be approaching a massive organizational overhaul if coach Mike Tomlin cannot figure out the quarterback position."

While injuries limited Watt to 10 games during the 2022 season, he tallied a total of 11.5 sacks over 17 contests this past campaign. That said, he was a non-factor during Pittsburgh's wild-card playoff loss to the Baltimore Ravens after he appeared to hurt his arm/wrist during the game. 

Back in March, Myles Garrett of the Cleveland Browns inked a four-year, $160M contract extension that included $123.5M guaranteed. The following month, Watt raised eyebrows with a social media post that may or may not have been related to his future. 

ESPN's Adam Schefter said as recently as Tuesday that "everybody thinks" Aaron Rodgers will be Pittsburgh's starting quarterback for the 2025 season. The Steelers signing the 41-year-old and then trading Watt wouldn't make much sense, but it's also unknown how Watt feels about playing in a contract year. 

The Steelers' three-day mandatory minicamp gets underway on June 10. It seems that Solak thinks there's a chance that Watt won't report for those sessions if he doesn't have an extension in hand.