Steelers news: T.J. Watt opts out of Pro Bowl, Art Rooney on Tomlin’s contract, and more

Pittsburgh’s star pupil has opted out of the 2023 Pro Bowl game and Art Rooney sidesteps questions about Mike Tomlin. Here’s the latest Steelers news as we head into the weekend.

We’ve got some pretty epic showdowns in store for us this Sunday as the Eagles host the 49ers in the NFC championship game followed the by the Chiefs vs Bengals for the AFC divisional title. Though the Pittsburgh Steelers will be watching from home, fans can join together to watch the best in the business take the stage for a shot at the Super Bowl.

Just ahead of championship weekend, Steelers president Art Rooney addresses the media for his post-season wrap-up, and he made some interesting comments. Here’s the latest Steelers news you need to know.

Steelers news

On Thursday, Art Rooney II fielded questions from the media on a variety of topics. One of them was about the future of head coach, Mike Tomlin. In the past, Tomlin has typically received a contract extension two years prior to his deal expiring. Though Tomlin’s contract is up after the 2024 season, Rooney would elude the media when asked about contracts.

“I don’t like to speculate on Coach’s contract,” Rooney said, per Joe Rutter of the TribLIVE. “We’ll see.” This was an interesting statement, but it certainly doesn’t mean that Tomlin will be gone after 2024. However, with the lack of playoff success, this team has had over the years, fans have the right to wonder if Rooney is taking a wait-and-see approach for now.

More Steelers news

In other Steelers news, T.J. Watt has officially backed out of the 2023 Pro Bowl games due to an injury, Mark Kaboly of The Athletic reports. More accurately, Watt is still nursing his way back to health from existing knee, pectoral, and rib ailments that hampered him in the second half of the 2022 season.

This is certainly no cause for concern. Watt is just playing it safe by sitting out of the Pro Bowl games this year. This is the right call if he’s not back to full strength yet. Many questioned if Watt belonged in the Pro Bowl in the first place after missing half a season. It’s clear his impact was massive on this team. The Pro Bowl game itself has been replaced this year by a series of mini-games as well as a flag football game in an effort to engage the audience and improve player safety.

NFL news

In NFL news, game lines are extremely tight as we look ahead to Sunday’s championship games. According to Fanduel Sportsbook, The Philadelphia Eagles are just 2.5 point home favorites over the visiting San Francisco 49ers. With the three points oddsmakers give to the home team, this means that Kyle Shanahan’s team would likely be narrow favorites if they were hosting this contest.

The spread on the AFC title game is even close. The Bengals were initially favorites over the Chiefs (likely due to Patrick Mahomes’ injured ankle). However, as we head into the weekend, Kansas City is 1.5-point favorites at home. These should make for some pretty exciting games on Sunday. The Eagles and 49ers kick off at 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Sunday, followed by the Chiefs vs Bengals at 6:30 p.m.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.