Fittipaldo Explains Why Steelers May ‘At Least Listen’ To T.J. Watt Trade Offers

Omar Khan’s tenure with the Pittsburgh Steelers has been defined by change, from aggressive free agent spending to blockbuster trades. With a new head coach now in place, that trend could escalate even further. Few moves would signal a sharper break from tradition than trading franchise cornerstone T.J. Watt.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Ray Fittipaldo thinks Khan will shop him around behind the scenes this offseason.

“I do think Omar will at least throw some feelers out there and see if anyone is interested in T.J., but it’s a big ticket. That contract is structured in such a way that it’s 42 million each and every year,” Fittipaldo said on 93.7 The Fan’s Pomp and Joe Show. “I can count on one hand the number of teams who are probably willing to do that.

“And then even if they are, you have to come to terms with what you would want in return for T.J. Would you take a discount and say, okay, I’ll just take a second-round pick. Would you do that if you’re the Steelers?”

The time to trade Watt for maximum returns was a year or two ago. His contract wasn’t as outrageous, and his production was still at a Defensive Player of the Year level. Now he is coming off a seven sack season with a $41 million APY price tag.

Could the Steelers get creative with the trade and give up Watt plus 2026 draft capital to get a premium 2027 pick? I suppose it’s possible, but Art Rooney II made it clear they are always trying to compete in the present, and that would be an uncharacteristic forward-thinking move. It’s also important to note that any team trading for Watt would presumably be a deep playoff contender, so the 2027 pick wouldn’t be that high up in the order anyways.

From the Steelers’ perspective, a Watt trade has never made so much sense. Nick Herbig is due for a contract extension, Alex Highsmith is playing at a high level, and Jack Sawyer looks like a perfectly capable top backup in the rotation. Alleviating that much cap space while stocking up on another premium pick or two is an attractive proposition.

“There was a time where they could not consider trading T.J. because they didn’t have the depth, but they have the depth now,” Fittipaldo said. So that’s why I’m saying I think at least Omar at the combine here in about a week or so, I think he will at least listen to offers or put it out there that maybe they would listen. But I don’t think it’s a strong likelihood of happening.”

The Wall Street Journal wrote a piece about the Russell Wilson trade and its effect on the Seattle Seahawks organization. They used their bounty of picks to build another Super Bowl roster. Watt doesn’t have that type of value, but there is something to be said about planning ahead and knowing when to cut ties with a declining asset.

Perhaps Mike McCarthy and Patrick Graham are confident they can adjust the scheme and get another DPOY season out of Watt. If they value him more than other teams seem to, then a deal won’t make sense. Remember that Rooney hates the word “rebuild,” and that is not what they intend on doing in the early portion of Mike McCarthy’s tenure in Pittsburgh.