TJ Watt Speculation after Pickens trade (Nothing Official)

[LABILLBACKER]

12 hours ago, Toledo Bill said:

AJ for anybody.

Bag of chips

[Alphadawg7]

6 hours ago, ChronicAndKnuckles said:

Trading TJ Watt would be on par with the Doncic trade as far as stupidity. The most valuable non-QB player. He’s 30, but I can easily see him playing at a high level for another 6 years or more. The only reason the Steelers have been relevant and that Mike Tomlin continues his streak of non-losing. Count on that to break if the Steelers FO does that.

A guy who’s already had injuries you see playing at a high level until he is 36?  And at a position where 32 commonly begins the falling off a cliff portion of their careers?  
 

I wouldn’t bank on that.  I’m all for adding him because all I care about right now is winning the Super Bowl this year.  But to expect him to be a high end player for 6 more years is a low percentage bet.  
 

For context:  His brother JJ Watt is 36 now and been retired since 2022 and only had one good season in his 30’s.

Edited May 8 by Alphadawg7

[BullBuchanan]

11 hours ago, L Ron Burgundy said:

Uh, with what qb?    I literally don't know who they have right now.

They want Rodgers. They wouldn't even be considering that if they weren't in win-now mode. They have a lot of aging veterans, and just traded for Metcalf. Admittedly it's a weird state they're in with the QB. If they can't get Rodger, I'd expect them to make a run at Cousins, or perhaps they'll talk to Tannehill.

[billsfan89]

22 hours ago, Dan in Owego said:

Quarterback class next year could be quite good if i was the Steelers getting a much draft capitol as possible would be the correct move.

 

Steelers don't ever seem to tank but if there ever was a point where they have reached an impasse and should somewhat soft reset and not be afraid of a bottom 10 record it would be this season. They have attempted to be somewhat competitive despite not having a QB since Big Ben (and Big Ben's last few years were rough) and while it is admirable they squeak out .500 or better seasons they won't ever get past a 10ish win round one exit team leaning on defense and cobbling together offense. 

 

Steelers had a 6-10 record in 2003 and it led to them getting Big Ben in the 2004 draft. Probably would be better for them if they get a top 10 pick in this years draft and have some extra premium picks to trade up. 

[chris heff]

17 minutes ago, BullBuchanan said:

They want Rodgers. They wouldn't even be considering that if they weren't in win-now mode. They have a lot of aging veterans, and just traded for Metcalf. Admittedly it's a weird state they're in with the QB. If they can't get Rodger, I'd expect them to make a run at Cousins, or perhaps they'll talk to Tannehill.

Tannehill? Why would they talk to him? The Steelers moves have been head scratching and that move would continue that trend. I could careless what the Steelers do, I hope they suck forever.

Edited May 8 by chris heff

[Gregg]

7 minutes ago, billsfan89 said:

 

Steelers don't ever seem to tank but if there ever was a point where they have reached an impasse and should somewhat soft reset and not be afraid of a bottom 10 record it would be this season. They have attempted to be somewhat competitive despite not having a QB since Big Ben (and Big Ben's last few years were rough) and while it is admirable they squeak out .500 or better seasons they won't ever get past a 10ish win round one exit team leaning on defense and cobbling together offense. 

 

Steelers had a 6-10 record in 2003 and it led to them getting Big Ben in the 2004 draft. Probably would be better for them if they get a top 10 pick in this years draft and have some extra premium picks to trade up. 

 

Correct me if I am wrong but I don't think Tomlin has ever had a losing season as Steelers HC. Maybe 8-8 once or twice but never a losing season. He has been the Steelers coach for a long time now. I just can't see the Steelers tanking. They may not be good enough to win the division. But they never seem to be a bottom feeder either. Barring injuries the Ravens should win the division. If the Bengals had a defense, then they could challenge them, but they don't. 

[billsfan89]

Just now, Gregg said:

 

Correct me if I am wrong but I don't think Tomlin has ever had a losing season as Steelers HC. Maybe 8-8 once or twice but never a losing season. He has been the Steelers coach for a long time now. I just can't see the Steelers tanking. They may not be good enough to win the division. But they never seem to be a bottom feeder either. Barring injuries the Ravens should win the division. If the Bengals had a defense, then they could challenge them, but they don't. 

 

The Steelers franchise since 1972 has only had 7 seasons were they weren't .500 or better. In fact their worst record since 1972 was a 5-11 season in 1988 of their other losing seasons they were 6-7 wins bad but far from tragic.

 

As far as Tomlin he has been .500 or better every season since 2007 when he took over. He has had three 8-8 seasons but never a losing season. I don't think the Steelers will tank ever, but could they be setting themselves up to have a 6-8 win season (by trading away a few key pieces after a slower start or by just not having a viable QB) and be higher up in the top half of the draft? I can see that. A 7 win season gets them in the pick 8-10 range which makes a trade up a lot easier than going from pick 16-20 all the way to the top 5. 

[RyanC883]

On 5/7/2025 at 10:54 AM, boyst said:

Trading Pickens was probably the request of Rodgers. 

 

make room for Lazard 

[RyanC883]

I would send AJ and a 2 for Watt.  Although, Watt does tend to vanish late in the season, so that's something to consider.  But so does AJ.  

[BullBuchanan]

11 minutes ago, RyanC883 said:

I would send AJ and a 2 for Watt.  Although, Watt does tend to vanish late in the season, so that's something to consider.  But so does AJ.  

I'd be shocked if the asking price was any lower than 2 1sts. From an in-conference rival who likely will be drafting at the back end of the round, I'd imagine the comp would be quite a bit higher.

[Bleeding Bills Blue]

1 hour ago, BullBuchanan said:

They want Rodgers. They wouldn't even be considering that if they weren't in win-now mode. They have a lot of aging veterans, and just traded for Metcalf. Admittedly it's a weird state they're in with the QB. If they can't get Rodger, I'd expect them to make a run at Cousins, or perhaps they'll talk to Tannehill.

 

I assumed cousins would be traded this offseason when they drafted penix last year.  I think the no-trade clause was to make sure he didn't end up on the browns or the jets.  The remainder of his contract is basically 1yr 27.5M, with a 10M dead hit roster bonus that triggered in 2025 and is paid in 2026.  They'd have the option to keep him for 2026 at 1yr 45M, with nothing else guaranteed you could easily convert and reduce the 2026 cap hit to spread money into 2027.

 

I personally think it'd be preferable to rodgers if the trade compensation is reasonable.  He's not a headcase like rodgers, is 5 years younger, and they even have had similar injuries.  

[Warriorspikes51]

15 hours ago, Kirby Jackson said:

I don’t hate it for the Bills. That’s what I was asking about. The problem, from their standpoint, is what do you do with him? You can’t pay him in the range of what Garrett got. He potentially cripples a cap if he’s done or about done. He’s a UFA after this year and will be 31 with lots of injuries. It’s a tricky situation.

 

well then, he's a 1 year rental for us and that would be fine 

[Kirby Jackson]

41 minutes ago, Warriorspikes51 said:

 

well then, he's a 1 year rental for us and that would be fine 

So then the question becomes, what’s the appropriate compensation for a 1 year rental, on an injury prone pass rusher, in their 30’s? It’s tricky. 
 

I was all about going after Watt until I talked to my buddy at the Steelers. Now I’m lukewarm. He knows WAY more than me as to what Watt has looked like recently. @BADOLBILZ comments echoed it. I guess I am at, sure, if it’s cheap to acquire him, go for it. 

[Warriorspikes51]

7 minutes ago, Kirby Jackson said:

So then the question becomes, what’s the appropriate compensation for a 1 year rental, on an injury prone pass rusher, in their 30’s? It’s tricky. 
 

I was all about going after Watt until I talked to my buddy at the Steelers. Now I’m lukewarm. He knows WAY more than me as to what Watt has looked like recently. @BADOLBILZ comments echoed it. I guess I am at, sure, if it’s cheap to acquire him, go for it. 

fair enough. A change of scenery could help.  The idea of TJ and Bosa on the field together is quite something 
 

Personally, I'd be willing to risk a 1st on it.   Although a 2nd + Epenesa would be better 

[Kirby Jackson]

Just now, Warriorspikes51 said:

fair enough. A change of scenery could help.  The idea of TJ and Bosa on the field together is quite something 
 

Personally, I'd be willing to risk a 1st on it.   Although a 2nd + Epenesa would be better 

Then we are in vastly different places. He said if they got a 2nd they should jump. That’s not the market. If that was anywhere close to what was being offered he’d be gone. A 3rd sounds like the ceiling now and it could go potentially down as the season progresses. My offer is more like a 5th. 

[Gregg]

This doesn't sound like the Steelers are interested in trading him.

 

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/nfl-shock-steelers-prepare-161-million-deal-for-tj-watt-after-pickens-trade/ar-AA1Ep9Ns?ocid=BingNewsSerp

[SoCal Deek]

They should just wait and see who falls out of the Browns training camp. He’ll most likely be young and darn cheap! 

[billsfan89]

 

35 minutes ago, Gregg said:

This doesn't sound like the Steelers are interested in trading him.

 

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/nfl-shock-steelers-prepare-161-million-deal-for-tj-watt-after-pickens-trade/ar-AA1Ep9Ns?ocid=BingNewsSerp

 

Steelers don't tank, even if it seems like they should sometimes. Kind of surprised to see that their drafting in recently has not been very good as usually their drafting is what keeps them afloat even if they are very conservative in free agency. 

[L Ron Burgundy]

13 hours ago, BullBuchanan said:

They want Rodgers. They wouldn't even be considering that if they weren't in win-now mode. They have a lot of aging veterans, and just traded for Metcalf. Admittedly it's a weird state they're in with the QB. If they can't get Rodger, I'd expect them to make a run at Cousins, or perhaps they'll talk to Tannehill.

Maybe, but I cannot see a team being that delusional.  Arod from 5 years ago might make them a contender.   I think it's more likely they're finally realizing they gotta bottom out.  We'll see.  Maybe they got DK to have a good wr to be ready for a good rookie qb next year?  That sounds odd too.  Weird situation.   Qb hell.