Mike Tomlin Chooses Aaron Rodgers Over TJ Watt as Steelers Announce Major Signing – Report

It has been six weeks, and the Pittsburgh Steelers continue to get strung along by Aaron Rodgers. The deadlock is not helping the team either, with frustrations from their current roster of players reaching new heights every day. Take T.J. Watt, for instance. A week back, the 7-time Pro Bowl edge rusher got the whole NFL talking about his cryptic post. Holding a peace sign that was suggestive of the fact that he and the Steelers were not in a good place as far as contract negotiations are concerned, the former Defensive Player of the Year has simply grown weary of playing the waiting game, for reasons more than the most obvious one.

“I would fairly tell you, T.J. Watt is probably getting a little sick of waiting on the quarterback question as well,” NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero said. Soon after Watt’s cryptic posts, multiple reports started flowing in suggesting the friction is quite palpable and that the Steelers weren’t expecting the price tag for Watt to be so high. Watt, who is slated to earn just $21M this season on his previous $112M extension, obviously wouldn’t like to play on that money. With the market catapulting, considering players like the Browns’ Myles Garrett have secured contracts worth $40 million a year, Steelers insiders don’t believe that the front office would be able to surpass the top-tier amount that Watt’s agent is going to front.

Steelers insider Mark Kaboly thinks Rodgers, even though he is not a Steeler, holds more power than Watt. On 93.7 The Fan, Kaboly claimed, “I think the hang-up is, the Steelers wanna see what Aaron Rodgers is gonna get and whatever is left, they might say, okay, T.J., this is it.” 

With 108 sacks, 462 total tackles, 126 tackles for loss, and 225 QB hits, Watt remains an invaluable asset to the Steelers. As for the Steelers, it looks like they have made it a habit to drag things till the last moment. Remember last spring? Defensive tackle Cam Heyward had brewing discontent over the status of his contract negotiations. Things reached an extent that it seemed Cam was ready to spend his career elsewhere. So much so that he sat out a portion of the voluntary spring workouts to let the ownership know his mindset. For Heyward, that worked.

The Steelers gave Heyward a new three-year, $45 million contract just ahead of the season, retaining one of their legacy players to be a “one-helmet guy,” as Mike Tomlin refers to the special players in the franchise history. Watt apparently also gave a hint with his cryptic post. It remains to be seen if that helps the Steelers’ authorities turn their eyes from Rodgers. While this part remains clouded, the Steelers made new hires on the coaching front.

They recruited Luke Smith as a quality control coach. He is the nephew of longtime Steelers special teams coach Danny Smith. A Pittsburgh native, Smith coached at Duquesne for the last eight years. He held several positions during his time with the Dukes, working as a defensive assistant from 2016 to 2017 and then as a wide receivers coach since 2018. He also served as the director of operations with the Dukes. Meanwhile, TJ Watt got massive backing as the saga unfolded.

JJ Watt’s warning about brother TJ Watt’s contract fell on deaf ears

Like, younger brother, TJ, JJ Watt was on a league of his own when he used to play in the NFL. Winning 3 Defensive Player of the Year awards, JJ is also a shoo-in for the Hall of Fame. Having seen his brother terrorize QBs every time he hops on the gridiron, JJ was ahead of his time in sending a warning to the Steelers. “Reward your players earlier and reap the benefits in the long run. Dragging it out not only ends up costing more, it creates unnecessary tension. The longer you wait, the higher the price.” And that’s what happened between the Steelers and TJ.

They knew TJ was entering the final year of his $112M contract. Still, they waited and waited until the edge rushers market exploded. Maxx Crosby got a mammoth $35.5M contract. Wore the crown of the NFL’s highest-paid non-QB for maybe 48 hours. Until the Browns made Myles Garrett the highest-paid non-QB with a $40M per season extension. So, having witnessed his competitors land such huge contracts. Obviously, TJ would expect the same from the Steelers.

Top Comment by mychal sheffield

Hire Aaron Rodgers and hopefully when he leaves he will take Tomlin with him If hiring Aaron Rodgers doesn’t Show...more

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Debate

Having the numbers to back his claim, TJ now holds the leverage. Since 2019, TJ has also had more sacks (89) than Garrett (82). This would only mean he won’t be settling for anything less than $40 million per season. But are the Steelers really going to pay him that much? Well, if they don’t do it now, the number is only predicted to go up. Micah Parsons, Aidan Hutchinson, and Trey Hendrickson are all slated to be extended sooner or later. Once they land their contracts, the Steelers could have a hard time negotiating with TJ.