Steelers silence may cost them the edge in more ways than one because this is what happens when your most reliable weapon isn’t on the field. And what makes it worse? He isn’t even on the same page as the front office. In Pittsburgh, that’s not a hypothetical. It’s a looming problem with a jersey number 90: T.J. Watt.

Watt has been the heartbeat of the Steelers‘ defense since he arrived in 2017. Seven Pro Bowls. Four first-team All-Pro honors. A Defensive Player of the Year award in 2021. Yet, as the team reloads around splashy additions like Aaron Rodgers and Jalen Ramsey, Watt’s absence at mandatory minicamp has grown louder than any trade rumor or contract leak. The team says it’s “optimistic.” But insiders suggest the clock is ticking, and the leverage? Slipping.

On ESPN’s NFL Live, senior insider Jeremy Fowler dropped what might’ve been the final domino in the Watt contract saga. “Pittsburgh remains optimistic, I’m told. They want to get a deal done,” he said. “But this is an issue of guaranteed money and structure. Most people I talk to around the league expect him to be the highest-paid pass rusher when he does get paid.” That wasn’t the headline. It was what came next. Fowler says that teams don’t expect a trade, but the fact that Pittsburgh couldn’t close the deal has made it possible, and some teams are already getting ready for that door to swing wider.

If the Steelers truly intended to make Watt untouchable, they missed their chance to act like it. Former offensive lineman Damien Woody didn’t mince words during the same segment. “If you’re gonna trade T.J. Watt, you should’ve done it earlier in the offseason,” he said. “You’re all in. You traded for DK Metcalf. You got Jalen Ramsey. You added Aaron Rodgers. And now you’re talking about moving one of the best pass rushers in the game? Are you crazy?”

Woody’s frustration speaks to the heart of Pittsburgh’s dilemma. They’ve already shown their hand. They’re trying to win now, but dragging out negotiations with their franchise edge rusher puts that entire plan at risk. If Watt shows up to training camp without a deal (or worse, doesn’t show up at all), the whole power structure changes. The Steelers have made a lot of big-name signings, but none of them can equal Watt’s effect on the pass rush.

While the season draws closer, trade rumors have bubbled online, even as ESPN’s Brooke Pryor shut them down on 93.7 The Fan, stating, “T.J. Watt wants more guaranteed money than the Steelers are currently trying to offer him.” That echoes what Mark Kaboly reported: the team remains in a “holding pattern,” and though no trade inquiries have been made, there’s growing tension around the length, structure, and guarantees of a potential deal. If negotiations drag into camp as they did in 2021 before Watt signed his last extension, it won’t just affect practice reps. It could shake the core of Pittsburgh’s defensive identity.

A Watt trade wouldn’t just be a blockbuster; it would be a full-blown identity shift. The Steelers have built their entire defensive scheme around No. 90’s edge dominance. Trading him this late in the offseason leaves no time for a suitable replacement on the roster, let alone a system recalibration. It signals more than a financial decision; it screams instability. And if they are even lightly entertaining offers from other franchises. It means that Pittsburgh is ready to give up their “win now” plan in order to get clarity on the cap later.

Is T.J. Watt worth it when it comes to legacy?

Pittsburgh is in an even worse situation since they are not willing to meet Watt’s demand for a four-year deal with $128M to $168M guaranteed. This is being seen as hesitancy, not discussion. NFL Network’s Peter Schrager summed it up on-air: “It’s about the other details they haven’t been able to lock in. That’s where things have stalled.”

There’s no denying Watt’s worth, not in sacks, not in leadership, and not in marketing. He’s a modern-era Steeler great. But as Bleacher Report’s Gary Davenport pointed out, age and leverage are now running parallel. “Someone is going to pay him,” Davenport wrote. “And when they do, his deal will rival (or surpass) Myles Garrett’s $40 million a season.”

That kind of payday would make Watt the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history, a title currently held by Ja’Marr Chase. However, while Cincinnati had no problem paying Chase at 24, the Steelers are hesitating with Watt at 30. Reports indicate that Watt wants four years instead of three, despite a projected $121 million on the table over the next three years. And that slight difference could end up being the franchise’s biggest mistake.

So what happens now? The Steelers can either write the check and cement Watt’s legacy in Pittsburgh or watch someone else do it. But one thing is clear: the longer they wait, the less control they have. And for a team that prides itself on structure and tradition, that might be the toughest hit of all.