Push likely for new T.J. Watt contract
Steelers want deal before OLB becomes free agent
The biggest splash the Steelers have made since the start of the free-agent signing period was bringing back two of their own players — Ben Roethlisberger and JuJu Smith-Schuster. They have yet to sign a free agent from another team whom they expect to be a starter in 2021.
That might not change anytime soon, which would be a departure from recent seasons when they signed free agents such as tight end Eric Ebron (2020), cornerback Steven Nelson (2019), linebacker Jon Bostic (2018), nose tackle Tyson Alualu (2017), tight end Ladarius Green (2016), and even running back DeAngelo Williams (2015). But there could be a reason for that. The Steelers would like to sign Pro Bowl outside linebacker T.J. Watt to a new contract this year to prevent him from becoming an unrestricted free agent after the 2021 season. The deal is expected to make him one of the highest paid outside linebackers in the league.
Watt already has the fifth-highest base salary in 2021 among outside linebackers ($10,089,000), a significant jump from the $1,727,565 he earned last season when he led the NFL with 15 sacks. But a new contract likely would eclipse the five-year, $82.5 million deal former teammate Bud Dupree recently signed with the Tennessee Titans and put Watt behind only Chicago’s Khalil Mack (six years, $141 million) and Denver’s Von Miller (six years, $114.1 million) among the top paid outside linebackers.
Even though the Steelers have had to release starters, cut salaries and restructure contracts to get in compliance with the salary cap, signing Watt to a monster deal now makes a lot of sense.
It allows them to focus their attention and resources on re-signing Pro Bowl safety Minkah Fitzpatrick when he becomes an unrestricted free agent after the 2021 season. And it precludes Watt from having any temptation to test the free-agent market when an inflated salary cap in 2022 is expected to send salaries skyrocketing like a Fourth of July fireworks show.
The Steelers have not started discussions with Watt about a new contract. That time is coming, maybe sooner than later.
Follow the money
Here is a simple piece of advice to remember when wondering what the Steelers are doing with their roster needs:
It’s about money.
Every move on defense, where the Steelers have lost five starters, was about money. The lone exception could be nose tackle Tyson Alualu’s decision to return to Jacksonville, where his family still lives.
Every decision on offense, where the Steelers lost tackle Matt Feiler in free agency but decided to bring back Roethlisberger and Smith-Schuster, was about money.
Team president Art Rooney II and general manager Kevin Colbert have stated for months that a flattened salary cap could cause drastic adjustments to the Steelers roster. It was a subtle warning to be prepared.
Yet, for some reason, people both locally and nationally are seeking some form of logic for their decisions. Did they have to keep Smith-Schuster and release Steven Nelson? Did they have to choose Cam Sutton over Mike Hilton?
It’s about the money.
Doesn’t mean you have to like what’s going on. Just keep in mind why it’s happening.
Center cut
Free-agent centers are drying up faster than a three-day-old pork chop.
Of the four who would merit a legitimate look as Maurkice Pouncey’s replacement, three already have been signed and taken off the market — Corey Linsley (Chargers), Alex Mack (49ers) and David Andrews (resigned by New England). Linsley signed the biggest deal — five years, $62.5 million.
The only one still available — and that could be changing very soon, too — is Kansas City Chiefs center Austin Reiter, who Spotrac.com says has a free-agent market value that would command a three-year, $34.2 million contract. Good luck with that.
But Reiter is considering a late offer from the Chiefs to return to the two-time AFC champions for the same reason other players around the league are not moving elsewhere — the free-agent market is slow and a vast majority of the contracts are for one year. That has allowed teams to keep their own players for one more season without committing to a multi-year contract — much the way the Steelers did with Smith-Schuster.
If the Steelers don’t sign a center to replace Pouncey in free agency, they will have to look to the draft. Otherwise, their only options are J.C. Hassenauer, who was resigned for one year as an exclusive rights free agent; and B.J. Finney, who was brought back on a one-year deal worth $990,000 after failed stops in Seattle and Cincinnati.
Those deals should speak volumes about what the Steelers think of their options.