Days after securing Aaron Rodgers and upgrading their offense, the Steelers are on another mission. This time to secure their defense. Mike Tomlin revealed this strategy as he picked 5 defensive players during the NFL draft. This was the result of the Steelers’ poor defensive performance in the previous season. After all, there were a fair few injuries. This cost them heavily in the second half of the season as they lost an average of 29 points per game. This has now led the Steelers to retain their key defensive players beyond this season.

As TJ Watt enters the final year of his current contract, pressure is on the Steelers to secure their linebacker. With other teams also in the mix for signing Watt, the Steelers will have to make an offer and make it quickly. However, as new reports come in, it seems that there will be a contract extension. But, it has also become evident that the extension will take some time to be negotiated and signed. After all, Watt will be expecting a huge contract, given his importance and experience.

Talking on the Pat McAfee Show about TJ Watt’s extension was NFL insider Ian Rapoport. While speaking on when the extension might happen, Ian predicted that it would take some time and wouldn’t be immediate. “Yeah, I don’t get the sense it’ll be immediate. These things take time. They… I don’t know why they just, they always do,” he said. If history is any indication, Ian’s prediction is not far off. After all, it was on September 9th of 2021 that they had signed an extension, hardly a few days before the start of the season. 

Having already missed the OTAs, Ian isn’t sure if Watt would skip the mandatory minicamp. After all, why would a player give up his guaranteed money in fines, which range from $17,462 to $52,381? “You know, we’ll see if he’s there for mandatory minicamp. Rarely do players give up guaranteed. You know, give up money, rarely do players take fines, but some do, so we might see a couple players stay away. You know, there’s a couple who hang in the balance. I mean TJ watt is is on,” Ian said. In the current, it does not seem that Watt will miss the mandatory minicamp, given that he wants an extension. However, it is also very possible that he may use the trick that a lot of players do. That is to come for the minicamp, but not participate.

Reassuring the fans and Pat, Ian once more mentioned that the extension was a sure thing. “But yeah, I mean this is the next big deal for the Steelers to do. I believe it’s gonna happen. I believe they’ll get to a number that everyone can be happy with it,” Ian reaffirmed. Meaning we might just see another late extension after deep discussion on the worth of the contract.

As TJ Watt’s contract extension hasn’t gone anywhere yet officially, there’s always the minute chance that he might skip the minicamp to make a point. And from the looks of it, throughout the league, there are others as well.

Which players might skip the mandatory minicamp?

As we get closer and closer to the start of the season, battles are more often fought on the negotiation tables than on the field. And if a player doesn’t get the contract extension he wants, or isn’t being offered an extension, more often than not, they skip the OTAs as a negotiating tactic. Some players also go all the way to skip the mandatory minicamp despite the fines in order to coerce the teams into handing a good, high-value extension. It’s a similar story, this time around, as well, and there are a few players who might skip the minicamp next week.

Kirk Cousins, Atlanta Falcons

The Falcons are sticking with Michael Penix Jr as their opening quarterback. And with Kirk Cousins wanting to be the starting QB badly, even if he has to trade off somewhere else., there is a good possibility that he might skip the minicamp over Atlanta not agreeing to either demands.

Trey Hendrickson, Cincinnati Bengals

Trey Hendrickson is seemingly out of luck. After not getting an extension, he has skipped the OTAs and is even talking of skipping the final season. The Bengals have meanwhile asked him to look for a trade.

Terry McLaurin, Washington Commanders

After recording an outstanding season, Terry is still waiting for an extension. While there have been discussions, nothing has been finalized yet. Terry has since skipped the OTAs and is also likely to skip the mandatory minicamp. He also has a history of doing that previously, having done it once in 2022.