The Pittsburgh Steelers recently solved one problem, only to have another one pop up soon after. For most of this offseason, the conversation around the Steelers has centered on Aaron Rodgers.
However, now that Rodgers is signed, T.J. Watt is the big story in town. Specifically, Watt’s contract situation. He’s going into the last year of his deal and he wants an extension. Unfortunately, he and the Steelers haven’t agreed to terms yet, resulting in Watt skipping mandatory minicamp. Colin Cowherd has an interesting theory on why a deal will get done.
“He’s not gonna show up, and you know why?” Cowherd asked Tuesday on his show on FS1, The Herd. “Because he knows he owns Mike Tomlin. He owns the Steelers. He’s gonna get whatever he wants. Everybody in Pittsburgh owns a T.J. Watt jersey. They don’t want any backlash. The Rooneys, small town, they don’t want any backlash, and [Watt’s] gonna get whatever he wants.”
Cowherd’s reasoning might not be right, but he’s probably correct that the Steelers will eventually pay Watt. It isn’t about whether or not Watt “owns” the Steelers. It’s more about Watt being one of the best players in the league and a crucial part of Pittsburgh’s team. Without him, their chances at being competitive drastically go down.
Still, missing mandatory minicamp is a first for Watt. It shows how serious he is about wanting an extension. During his last contract negotiation, while he didn’t practice with the team, he was in attendance. Now, he’s willing to deal with the fines for being absent.
While Cowherd seems confident that the Steelers will pay Watt, it doesn’t sound like he thinks that’s the best idea.
“This is not a criticism of T.J. Watt, but in four playoff games, he’s got one sack, no forced fumbles, six tackles…A lot of T.J. Watt’s numbers have been against that bad Bengals’ o-line, or bad Cleveland o-line. This is not anti-T.J. Watt. He’s a hell of a player. He’s their best player. He’s tough. He’s physical. He plays through pain. 0-4 in the playoffs, one sack.”
While Cowherd says that’s not a criticism of Watt, it’s tough to look at it as anything else. Yes, Watt hasn’t had major playoff success in his career. However, putting all of the responsibility for the Steelers’ postseason failures on Watt feels like a mistake.
Look at Watt’s four trips to the playoffs. The first came in 2017 when he was a rookie. Obviously, he had yet to hit his stride, and the Steelers’ offense failed them in a big way in that game. In 2020, he was less impactful, but again, the Steelers’ offense struggled with turnovers, putting their defense in a bad position.
Funnily enough, Cowherd doesn’t mention that Watt has scored a touchdown in the playoffs. In 2021, Watt scored the first touchdown of the game when the Steelers faced the Kansas City Chiefs in the playoffs. That pushes back against Cowherd’s narrative.
The bottom line is that Watt deserves to be one of the highest paid players at his position. He’s consistently one of the best players in the league and he makes the Steelers much better. Watt’s work is the reason that he should get whatever he wants, not because Art Rooney II is afraid of facing backlash.
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