When the Pittsburgh Steelers handed T.J. Watt a three-year, $123 million contract extension during the 2025 offseason, the move was met with mixed reviews by the fanbase. Watt built a Hall of Fame-level resume in Pittsburgh, and fans want him to start and finish his career with the Steelers. At the same time, we could see signs of decline in the second half of the 2024 season.
As it turns out, we had a right to be fearful of the team's decision to hand Watt a massive deal.
In 2025, a 31-year-old Watt looks like a shell of his former self—a player who used to be a shoo-in for First-Team All-Pro and even Defensive Player of the Year consideration when healthy. Since late in the 2024 season, Watt seemed to have hit a wall, and he's having his least efficient season as a pass rusher.
Though Watt is still routinely drawing attention from opposing offenses, the nine-year veteran has not been able to get to the quarterback routinely. As a result, the former superstar has seen a notable dip in production when it comes to sacks, tackles for a loss, quarterback hits, and pressures.
Watt's underwhelming performance doesn't make him a bad football player, but he certainly hasn't come close to living up to his billing. Now, general manager Omar Khan and the Pittsburgh Steelers are faced with an incredibly difficult decision during the 2026 offseason.
The Pittsburgh Steelers should attempt to trade T.J. Watt during the 2026 offseason
While the Steelers could ride out the remainder of Watt's deal—which extends through the 2028 season—his current trajectory would suggest that Watt won't be worth a fraction of his pay a few years from now. Because of this, Pittsburgh needs to face a brutal reality: they made a mistake by handing him a massive extension during the offseason, and they need to attempt to get out of his deal.
Releasing Watt isn't an option—nor should it be. Not only would Watt be scooped up by another team instantly, but financially, the Steelers couldn't make this work without taking a serious dead money hit. If Pittsburgh attempted to release Watt during the 2026 offseason, the front office would be forced to eat $94 million in dead money, via Over The Cap.
But while releasing Watt isn't on the table, trading his lucrative contract to a contending team could be.
Watt's three-year contract extension included $108 million in guarantees, which makes it hard to get out of his deal until after the 2027 season. However, there's an avenue to trade Watt. Sending the four-time First-Team All-Pro to a new team early in the offseason would result in a $30 million dead money hit and $12 million in cap savings. This is at least more palatable.
If Khan and a potential trade partner can exercise patience, the Steelers could make Watt a post-June 1 trade. By doing so, the Steelers would take just a $10 million dead cap hit during the 2026 offseason while saving $32 million in cap space. Though this savings would come after the rush of free agency, Pittsburgh could always look to carry money over into the following season.
So why would the Steelers want to get rid of Watt next offseason?
The answer is simple: this team is going nowhere fast, and Watt continues to decline. There's no reason to expect him to improve in 2026 and beyond, and if we're being honest with ourselves, he's no longer a cornerstone asset for the franchise or the future of the defense in Pittsburgh.
Additionally, trading Watt would allow the Steelers to look to the future with a 24-year-old Nick Herbig, who requires a big contract of his own. Herbig proved to be the best pure pass rusher on the team this season, and he still hasn't reached his potential.
At this rate, the Pittsburgh Steelers wouldn't get much for an aging former star with a bad contract—maybe just a future Day 2 pick. Fans wouldn't enjoy watching T.J. Watt suit up in any jersey that isn't black and gold, but it's in the best interest of the team to trade him during the 2026 offseason.