Steelers fans would love to see the eldest Watt brother come to Pittsburgh. Here’s why that’s a possibility following the 2022 season.
No team in the NFL values strong family bloodlines than the Pittsburgh Steelers. As proof, they currently have four sets of brothers currently playing together on the team: T.J. and Derek Watt, Terrell and Trey Edmunds, Cameron and Conner Heyward, and Carlos and Khalil Davis.
Family ties are incredibly rare in Pittsburgh, and that doesn’t seem likely to change with Omar Khan now taking over as general manager. The Rooney family seems to place a strong emphasis on this, and with Mike Tomlin’s pull, I would expect this to continue.
This is good news for fans hoping they would be able to see all three Watt brothers playing together in Pittsburgh. While adding J.J. Watt to the Steelers defense is far from a guarantee, it’s looking more realistic than ever following the 2022 season.
Last offseason, fans seemed to be enamored with the idea of uniting one of the NFL’s most prolific sets of professional football brothers. In hindsight, knowing that Stephon Tuitt would not return to the field, J.J. would have been a most welcome addition to the team. However, acquiring him last year would have cost the Steelers both draft capital and cap space they didn’t have.
How Steelers can get J.J. Watt
This time around, the road to acquiring the services of J.J. Watt is much easier to figure out. During the 2021 offseason, Watt signed a two-year, $28 million contract with the Arizona Cardinals — a deal that included some voidable years tacked on in an effort to spread out the cap hit.
As a result, Watt will be playing on the final year of that deal this season and will be an unrestricted free agent who can sign with any club during the 2023 offseason.
This is where the Pittsburgh Steelers swoop in. Even after the Minkah Fitzpatrick extension, Mike Tomlin’s team is set to have over $40 million in cap space next season, according to Over the Cap. This is clearly more than enough money to get a deal done with the former three-time Defensive Player of the Year winner.
The question then becomes: does Watt want to play for the Steelers?
At the moment, I’m having trouble thinking of a good reason why he wouldn’t — outside of packing up his bags and moving. The Steelers have had a top-6 defense in four of the past five seasons, and they pay good defenders well.
Meanwhile, Watt would be reunited with his brothers and fulfill a dream of playing for the same NFL team in an effort to compete for a Super Bowl. Last year, J.J. admitted to being jealous of watching his brothers play together on the Steelers. With all of the accolades he has earned and the money he has made during his career, Watt could prioritize this dream scenario over offers from others teams.
The question fans would likely be asking next offseason: is Watt worth the money at this stage in his career?
Admittedly, you may have to overpay a bit for the household name. With Watt turning 34 years old before the 2023 season and with his injury history, this question is justifiable. However, the five-team First-Team All-Pro defensive lineman is still playing at a very high level.
Last year, Watt graded out as the 10th-best interior defender, according to Pro Football Focus. His 81.0 pass-rush grade ranked 7th among all players at his position, and just a shade behind Cameron Heyward (83.8 grade).
While Watt would make the defense older, he’s still a remarkable football player who, on the right team, could be an All-Pro-level talent again — even considering his age. With Tuitt now officially retired, the Steelers have some decent depth on the DL, but nobody outside of Heyward is nearly as talented as J.J. Watt.
I never thought we would see the day where it was a realistic possibility to acquire J.J. Watt, but that choice will very likely be up to him following the 2022 season, and he might just choose to join his brothers on the Pittsburgh Steelers.