The Pittsburgh Steelers announced late Monday night that they had agreed to terms on a massive contract extension for a core defender. However, the name of the defender came as a surprise to many fans.
The Steelers did not get a new deal in place with T.J. Watt, instead giving DeShon Elliott a two-year extension.
To be clear, I am in favor of this deal. Elliott outplayed his contract last season by a wide margin and is still young enough to play at a high level. No, he isn’t, nor will he ever, be a top safety in the NFL, but he is a steady contributor who got an earned pay raise.
While that deal was solid, it still doesn’t answer what will happen with Watt this offseason. He has made his intentions clear, sitting out of OTAs and mandatory minicamp since he doesn’t have a new deal in hand.
The Pittsburgh Steelers need to wrap up this contract dispute with T.J. Watt
While the Elliott deal doesn’t impact Watt at all, the timing of it is certainly worth noting. Typically, the Steelers waited on extensions until training camp. Most of the time, these deals came down to the last few days before Pittsburgh starts the regular season.
This has slightly changed under Omar Khan. He was quick to ink Minkah Fitzpatrick to a mega deal when he was approaching the end of his rookie contract. Last season, though, it was back to the norm, agreeing to deals with Cameron Heyward and Pat Freiermuth late into training camp.
With Elliott now under a new deal, it is clear that the Steelers don’t feel like they have to wait on deals. Last year was an exception, and likely due to the team trying to acquire another receiver so late into camp. They needed some funds in reserve if a deal were to occur.
That means that there is no reason not to pay Watt right now. We know both sides want to keep the other, and the deal won’t be a cheap one given Watt’s position and dominance.
Now, sure, there will be a lot more nuance in a mega-deal like Watt, but you have to imagine that can be hammered out sooner rather than later. The Steelers need to pay the man and get this drama past them.
With the dead part of the offseason here, it is prime time for Pittsburgh to prioritize getting this deal with Watt done. This wraps up a lot of the background noise this offseason, and the team can finally just focus on football once training camp starts.