How Steelers' T.J. Watt situation differs from Bengals' Trey Hendrickson saga

T.J. Watt of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Trey Hendrickson of the Cincinnati Bengals are two star pass-rushers looking to land lucrative contract extensions before their clubs open training camp later this month.

During Tuesday's edition of the ESPN "Unsportsmanlike" program, NFL insider Adam Schefter explained how the Watt and Hendrickson sagas differ from each other. 

"Pittsburgh is more intent upon keeping T.J. Watt than Cincinnati is with Trey Hendrickson," Schefter said, as shared by Ross McCorkle of Steelers Depot. "I think Pittsburgh and T.J. Watt somehow will figure out a way. Best I could tell, they haven't gotten close recently, but we'll see if they can figure out a way to get that done by the time camp begins."

Hendrickson requested a trade in April 2024 but ultimately featured for the Bengals through all of last season. Watt hasn't yet gone down such a road, and the Steelers reportedly "have zero intention of trading" him after they signed 41-year-old Aaron Rodgers to be their starting quarterback in June. 

On Monday, NFL reporter Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated noted that the contract extension Dallas Cowboys edge-rusher Micah Parsons is expected to receive before the upcoming regular season gets underway will "start with a four, and the guarantees will have to be well into nine figures." Myles Garrett of the Cleveland Browns reset the market for players at the position earlier this year via his four-year, $160M extension that included $123.5M guaranteed.

Both Watt and Hendrickson will be 31 years old when 2025 comes to an end. Garrett turns 30 in late December, and Parsons will be 26 through Super Bowl LX. 

"I think that the issue there right now would seem to be the length of the years in the contract," Schefter added about Watt and Hendrickson. "Trey Hendrickson and T.J. Watt, they want more years. The team wants to give them fewer years. Both players are in their 30s, so for the players, it's about getting as much guaranteed money as you can over a longer period of time."

While Breer acknowledged that the Hendrickson situation remains "unpredictable," there's no indication Watt will play for a team other than the Steelers later this year. That said, there was also no sign as of the afternoon of July 15 that Watt would give the Steelers any type of hometown discount before he's due to report to training camp on July 23.