Lucrative deal for Watt will follow preseason
There is nothing acrimonious about the relationship between the Steelers and T.J. Watt. There is no stare down between the organization and their All-Pro outside linebacker about the terms of a new contract. Nobody was waiting for the other side to blink.
The whole strange, curious situation was an arrangement agreeable to both parties.
Watt didn’t want to be a holdout while waiting for a contract extension. And the Steelers wanted him in training camp. So he agreed to report and the Steelers agreed to not have him practice until he signed a new contract.
Well, the wait is almost over.
With the four preseason games behind them and the season opener next, Watt is expected to return to practice sometime next week and the Steelers will sign him to a new contract that is expected to make him the highest-paid defensive player in the league, according to a team source.
Chicago Bears outside linebacker Khalil Mack has the largest contract value for a defensive player in the league — $ 141 million over six years, according to
spotrac.com. Los Angeles Chargers defensive end Joey Bosa has the highest yearly average at $27 million and highest guaranteed amount at $102 million.
It is a big-time investment in a defensive player for the Steelers, but not surprising. They have paid defensive end Cam Heyward more than $88 million over the life of three contracts, a total exceeded by
only four other defensive linemen in the league. In 2019, they signed defensive end Stephon Tuitt to a five-year, $60,001,439 contract that put him among the top-five paid defensive linemen in the league at the time.
Watt’s deal will take him to another stratosphere.
Eyes on Tuitt
The situation with Tuitt, who has been at practice but not participating in any drills since the start of training camp, is slightly different from Watt.
The Steelers are being respectful of what Tuitt has been going through after his younger brother, Richard Bartlett, was killed in a hitandrun accident in June. However, he has been held out of practice mostly because he is dealing with an undisclosed injury that could continue to bother him for a while.
Coach Mike Tomlin has not said if Tuitt is injured, citing league policy that injuries do not have to be revealed during the preseason. And he has not given a timetable for Tuitt’s possible return to practice.
If Tomlin is merely being cautious with Tuitt, giving his injury as much rest as possible, then it is likely he will return to practice next week to give him two weeks to get ready for the Sept. 12 opener in Buffalo.
If Tuitt does not return next week, that is another matter. His absence would only continue to highlight what is a lack of quality depth on the defensive line. Tuitt’s backup is Chris Wormley, who has done little since being acquired in 2020. Behind him are Isaiah Buggs, Carlos Davis, Henry Mondeaux and rookie Isaiahh Loudermilk, who have combined for 348 NFL snaps.
“When is he coming back? When we need him to come back,” defensive coordinator Keith Butler said of Tuitt. “Does he need to come back and get in shape and stuff like that? Sure, he does. But we’re not concerned about it right now. Hopefully, next week we’ll get him back. We’ll see. We’ll see what happens.”
Whatever injury is bothering Tuitt, the Steelers are hoping the time off during training camp will remedy the issue. If his time off is extended another week, that is not good news for the Steelers.
Slotting in Sutton
The Steelers plan all along was to have Cam Sutton replace Mike Hilton as the slot corner in their nickel defense.
But they spent most of training camp leaving Sutton on the outside, which is what he prefers, and using Antoine Brooks Jr. and newcomer Arthur Maulet in the slot, hoping one of them would take control of the position.
Well, Brooks has been released, Maulet has been injured and Tre Norwood, the latest to be tried there, is too new and inexperienced to play the position. So now what?
The Steelers have two options: They can move Sutton into the slot in their nickel defense and use James Pierre on the outside. Or they can check the waiver wire next week and find a veteran off the street who can perform the role. The former is more likely.
Sutton would not be as disruptive as Hilton along the line of scrimmage, but he is much better in coverage.
“He’s probably better suited to covering than he is to blitzing,” Butler said of Sutton. “We like that position to be physical and to be able to blitz a little bit, and to be able to cover, also. It’s not an easy position to play.”