When the Pittsburgh Steelers made T.J. Watt the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history, it came with the expectation that—for the next few years—Watt would continue to be a game-wrecking force. But so far, that hasn't been the case. In fact, Watt's quiet performances to begin the season have gotten lost in the shuffle.
In Week 2 against the Seattle Seahawks, Watt was hardly noticed. The 2021 Defensive Player of the Year rarely found himself around the football after recording just two pressures and as many tackles despite playing 50 defensive snaps.
It wasn't that he was bad; it's that he was simply 'solid'. And solid doesn't cut it when you've got a $40 million per year salary.
The season-opener was much of the same for Watt. Against the New York Jets in Week 1, Watt tallied just one pressure to go with three tackles (and one missed tackle) on 56 defensive snaps. Dating back to last season—including the playoffs—Watt has now gone six straight games without recording a sack.
T.J. Watt isn't living up to his $40 million per year billing with the Pittsburgh Steelers
We know that you need far more than sack production to be an elite edge rusher in the NFL, but Watt's presence on the field has gone mostly unnoticed through the first two games of the 2025 season. This is something that cannot happen if Watt is one of the most expensive non-quarterbacks in the NFL.
The Steelers are getting pulverized on the ground and through the air early in the year. Through the first two games, Pittsburgh's defense ranks 26th in EPA per play, 27th in success rate, 25th in drop-back EPA, and 28th in rushing EPA.
Watt hasn't been getting to the quarterback or near the football fast enough to make his presence felt. His adequate play has led to a pass rush grade of just 66.8 entering Week 3, according to Pro Football Focus.
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Watt has also been almost completely void of all splash plays. Outside of his lone batted pass, the Steelers star has no sacks, no forced fumbles, and no fumble recoveries. These are things we are used to seeing from him. Instead, on 46 pass rush snaps, Watt has three combined pressures.
I understand that Watt can't do everything by himself. Teryl Austin and Mike Tomlin share the blame for the vanilla defensive game plan they've been calling, while the talent surrounding Watt isn't performing well early in the year. But if a player who recently signed a three-year, $123 million contract extension can't raise the performance of the defense, it's hard to argue that this is money well spent.
We're only in September, and there's more than enough time for T.J. Watt to prove Pittsburgh Steelers fans wrong. But fans are already starting to regret this lucrative contract, and they are going to turn on him quickly if he can't figure out how to make a bigger impact on the football field soon.
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