Fresh off mandatory minicamp, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ focus shifts to training camp at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, where the Steelers will return for the 58th time on July 23.
An extended look at quarterback Aaron Rodgers will be had, but much of the focus will be on star pass rusher T.J. Watt and his contract situation. Watt, as is well known, skipped minicamp last week while in the midst of contract negotiations, signaling he’s not happy with how talks are going overall.
That’s led to plenty of speculation regarding his future in the Steel City, and in some cases even his availability for the 2025 season.
But Post-Gazette’s Brian Batko, who appeared on the No. 1 Cochran Sports Showdown with host Bob Pompeani Sunday night, doesn’t see any scenario where Watt isn’t on the field and playing like his usual self in 2025 with the Steelers.
“I can’t envision a scenario where we’re sitting there wondering if T.J. Watt is not gonna show up and play for the Steelers Week 1,” Batko said, according to video via KDKA-TV. “Another contract to triangulate here is Micah Parsons with the Cowboys, right? I mean, that thing seems to be vacillating every day depending on which Cowboys reporter or national insider you read. So I think with T.J., he wants no one to really know which way he’s leaning or how this is going or what he’s thinking. I think that’s generally good in negotiations.
“And Mike Tomlin, I think, didn’t really wanna ruffle any feathers when he was asked about it, saying that he’s not gonna speculate on whether T.J. will be here Week 1 of training camp. But I think that could just mean that’s Omar [Khan]’s job to figure that out with T.J.’s representation. ‘I’m the head coach, I’m staying out of it, but I’m optimistic.'”
Watt’s absence created a significant storyline last week as things escalated to a level many believed they would never get to in negotiations with the Steelers, keeping him off the field and away from the team while opening himself up to fines for missing mandatory minicamp.
Of course, Watt did raise some eyebrows earlier in the offseason when he posted a cryptic Instagram photo, throwing up the peace sign, leading many to believe he wasn’t happy with the way things were playing out in negotiations.
Back in 2021 leading up to his first extension with the Steelers, things weren’t always easy in negotiations. That led to Watt staying off on the side during training camp, largely doing his own thing in preparation for the season, before he marched into Art Rooney II’s office to sign the deal himself, frustrated with how things had dragged on.
That might not be the case this year as Watt is taking a hard-line approach and might be frustrated that the Steelers didn’t take care of him last season, something his older brother, J.J., has stated that they should have.
Since the end of the 2024 season, Watt has seen Maxx Crosby and Myles Garrett get market-setting contracts, and watched the Steelers wait around for Rodgers in free agency with no real progress on a deal for him. So now, he’s playing the only card he has left, and that’s to be absent.
Hopefully that doesn’t drag into training camp, because the Steelers need their star on the field preparing for the season in an effort to push for a playoff berth and find a way to get over the hump in the postseason.
Both sides are seemingly confident a deal will get done, and most importantly both sides want to get a deal done. The Steelers have a way of going about business, and now Watt has his own way, too. Let’s just hope in September this still isn’t a story.
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