Pittsburgh Steelers star defender T.J. Watt has been absent this offseason, fueling trade rumors, with the Philadelphia Eagles emerging as one of the teams he’s been linked to.
As enticing as the idea may be for the reigning Super Bowl champion Eagles to add another elite pass rusher like Watt to an already loaded defense, the odds of general manager Howie Roseman making that a reality appear slim.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, that move is highly unlikely due to the financial hurdles and the Eagles’ current focus on extending their own young stars rather than taking on a massive veteran contract.
“I think the Eagles are planning and budgeting to pay their own players,” Schefter said during an appearance on 97.5 The Fanatic. “They’re going to have any number of young stars from Jalen Carter to the two cornerbacks [Cooper DeJean, Quinyon Mitchell] that they drafted last year, they have to go pay in the future. They already paid Zack Baun, and they paid Saquon Barkley. At some point, they’re going to have to address the offensive side.
“There’s so many contractual situations that you have, and it makes it hard to go trade for a TJ Watt and pay him upwards of $30 million dollars a year. It just doesn’t work. Would you love to have him? Of course. Every team would. But can you make it work feasibly, financially, and structurally? That would be incredibly challenging for the Eagles to do.”
The Eagles aren’t exactly hurting for help at pass rusher, especially with Jalyx Hunt, Moro Ojomo, and Nolan Smith, all of whom played key roles in last season’s Super Bowl run, still on the roster.
There’s no denying that the Watt suiting up for the Eagles would be a dream scenario for fans and a nightmare for opposing offenses. However, as exciting as the thought may be, the reality is far less promising.
Between Watt’s hefty contract, the Steelers’ reluctance to part with their defensive cornerstone, and the Eagles' own financial priorities, bringing him to Philly just doesn’t seem realistic at this point.
