PITTSBURGH -- Multiple Pittsburgh Steelers stars were not at the team’s opening practice for their voluntary OTAs.
In videos posted, Steelers outside linebacker T.J. Watt and wide receiver DK Metcalf were the notable missing players.
Metcalf has been in Pittsburgh at various points throughout the first two phases of OTAs and has started mentoring younger players. He will likely show up at some point over the next two weeks before mandatory minicamp.
Watt has generally missed a week or two of OTAs, even when his contract was not in question. So, this is not necessarily contract-related.
The Steelers star should see his extension coming soon, which could be a mega-extension that equals or tops Myles Garrett’s huge $40 million per year deal with the Cleveland Browns.
The 30-year-old edge rusher remains one of the NFL’s elites. At the annual league meetings last week, general manager Omar Khan said the team hopes to see Watt finish his career with the Steelers.
“I’m not going to get into the contract numbers, but if you’re referring to T.J. [Watt], I assume, I’ll just say that I’m very hopeful that T.J. will finish his career as a Steeler,” Khan said.
Steelers safety DeShon Elliott said star cornerback Darius Slay was not at OTAs either, but he was looking forward to meeting him when he showed up.
“When he gets here, he’ll get here. I’m sure he’ll be a great addition for us…he’ll be a natural leader on defense," Elliott said.
Notable stars who showed up and spoke to the media were defensive lineman Cam Heyward, linebacker Patrick Queen, and tight end Pat Freiermuth.