From signing Aaron Rodgers to trading for Jalen Ramsey, the Pittsburgh Steelers have done just about everything to prepare for their ‘all-in’ attempt at the 2025 playoffs. The only problem, however, is that they forgot to sign their star pass rusher, T.J. Watt.
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The past several months have been rather chaotic for Pittsburgh, causing Watt’s negotiations to routinely take the backseat in favor of more pressing issues, such as the free agency period and the NFL Draft. Nevertheless, the bill has now come due for the Steelers, and Watt has all of the leverage.
Talks have begun to stall, and trade rumors are beginning to percolate, but the team’s veteran defensive tackle, Cameron Heyward, doesn’t want to hear it. During his appearance on The Rich Eisen Show, when confronted about the possibility of Watt being traded prior to the beginning of the season, the Steelers’ captain had little patience for the topic.
“I’m going right up to Omar [Khan] and I’m telling him that’s not happening. I don’t think it helps our team to trade a guy like that… I’m going to put my hat in the ring and say this cannot happen.”
While Heyward did clarify that he rarely, if ever, discusses contracts with Watt, he still voiced his support for his teammate. “Man, that’s my brother. I want that dude to get paid what he deserves.”
In noting that Watt is feared by others on the field and respected by his teammates in the locker room, Heyward suggested that losing him would be an all-around detriment. When trying to view things from both a sentimental standpoint and as a professional, he still saw no value in ending Watt’s tenure with the Steelers.
“Offensive players have to circle #90 week in and week out. There’s a level of respect there. I’ve had the best time playing with him, and I hope this year isn’t our last time playing together, because that’s my running mate. We’ve created a lot of havoc together.”
Unfortunately, with training camp less than a week away, tensions will likely continue to rise. Watt already refused to attend the team’s mandatory minicamps, suggesting that he’ll have no problem with holding out further.
Sooner than later, there will come a point in time where not having him at the facility will start to become a detriment to the franchise’s potential in 2025. A lack of participation in minicamps, OTAs, etc. is directly correlated to mid-season injuries.
Should Watt incur an untimely hamstring issue or find himself ill-prepared by the time the Steelers reach Week 10 of the regular season, then their hopes of finding their first playoff win since 2016 could be severely hampered. The final seven weeks of the Steelers’ regular season schedule include a series of dates with the Cincinnati Bengals, the Buffalo Bills, the Detroit Lions, and two matchups against the Baltimore Ravens, all of whom were top teams in the league last year.
Simply put, for the sake of everyone involved, Watt’s agents and Pittsburgh executives better resolve things sooner rather than later, otherwise they may risk dealing with the wrath of Heyward himself.
