A Monday update indicated that star pass-rusher T.J. Watt could stay away from the Pittsburgh Steelers through at least the start of training camp if he doesn’t receive his desired contract extension before Pittsburgh players report for camp on July 23.
During Tuesday’s edition of ESPN’s “Unsportsmanlike” program, NFL insider Adam Schefter suggested Steelers fans shouldn’t yet be worried about Watt’s status for summer practices.
“I’m not ready to say anything like that right now on July 8,” Schefter said about Watt possibly holding out, per Josh Carney of Steelers Depot. “If we get to Aug. 8 and it’s still not resolved, well, that becomes a little bit more interesting. And if it gets to Sept. 8, that’s a big problem. But there’s a lot of time to work these things out, and even though the sides might be far apart right now, I still think that somehow, with his importance to that franchise, that they’ll figure out a way to get this done at some point in time.”
The Steelers and Watt reportedly are “far apart” regarding the amount of guaranteed money the 30-year-old will receive via his expected extension. It’s assumed Pittsburgh hasn’t yet presented Watt with a contract worth more than the four-year, $160M extension that included $123.5M guaranteed that Myles Garrett inked to stay with the Cleveland Browns in March.
Micah Parsons of the Dallas Cowboys could better Garrett’s deal before training camp gets underway, and fellow pass-rusher Trey Hendrickson of the Cincinnati Bengals could also alter the market if he receives an extension this month.
Chatter about the Steelers possibly trading Watt has hovered over the club since he skipped the team’s mandatory minicamp in June. According to Schefter, the Steelers “have zero intention of trading” Watt after they signed 41-year-old Aaron Rodgers to be their starting quarterback before the club’s summer break.
“You can’t have it both ways,” Schefter added about the Steelers-Watt saga. “You can’t say we want to keep this guy that badly and then be far apart in the contract. So that’s up to those two sides to figure out how to resolve that.”
Watt participated in individual drills during training camp until he received an extension to his liking ahead of the start of the 2021 regular season. If he doesn’t report for camp later this month, that could show that the situation has become “more interesting” than it seems to be as of July 8.
