T.J. Watt has been the Pittsburgh Steelers’ best player for years. He’s also one of the best pass rushers in the NFL, and without him, the Steelers are a much worse team. Despite that, Watt and the Steelers are in the middle of a contract dispute. It feels like, eventually, they’ll come to an agreement, but nothing is guaranteed until a deal is done. Until then, the potential exists for Pittsburgh to trade Watt. ESPN insider Adam Schefter recently provided some insight on how he thinks this saga could go.
“Do I think Pittsburgh’s trading him?” Schefter asked Wednesday on the radio show Rothman and Ice. “No. Do I think Pittsburgh wants to trade him? No. I think we all can agree on all these things. It’s common sense. But I also think we can agree that, if this happens to go on, and it hasn’t shown signs of ending so far, then that’s going to open the door for teams calling about him.
“The longer it goes on, the more interested they’ll become, and the more likely it is that they’ll make an offer that, maybe at some point in time, they’ll have to entertain. Do I think that’s gonna happen? Probably not. I think the overwhelming chances are he does wind up back with the Steelers. But when these things are left unresolved, and they’re left out there, situations take funny turns.”
This offseason has certainly supported what Schefter is saying about things taking sometimes taking interesting turns in the NFL. Look at the moves the Steelers have made recently. It didn’t seem likely that they’d trade Minkah Fitzpatrick, either, but when a deal they liked materialized, the team didn’t hesitate.
It’s not impossible that the same thing could happen with Watt. It would likely take a king’s ransom, though. While Fitzpatrick is a great player, Watt is one of the best players in the league, and the Steelers’ all-time sack leader. It’s going to take a lot for Pittsburgh to even consider making a deal.
Also, most of the things that the Steelers have done this year make it apparent that they’re trying to be contenders. There’s not much that they could acquire for Watt that wouldn’t contradict that goal. Replacing a player of his caliber is incredibly difficult.
However, a team could get desperate and see Watt as their missing piece. The Steelers shouldn’t trade Watt. If they were going to do that, they should’ve done it earlier in the offseason. But like Schefter says, as long as this contract dispute is alive, so too are the Watt trade rumors.
The most likely outcome is that the Steelers will give in and sign Watt to a contract extension. It feels like that makes the most sense for both sides. However, Omar Khan has shown that he’s not afraid to make splash deals, as long as they make the Steelers a better team. There aren’t many scenarios where that happens by trading Watt, but it’s also not impossible.
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