How does the Pittsburgh Steelers' trade for cornerback Jalen Ramsey impact superstar edge rusher T.J. Watt?
The Pittsburgh Steelers took on two more potentially large cap hits when they traded for star cornerback Jalen Ramsey and tight end Jonnu Smith, and the news produced two similar but different updates on contract negotiations with T.J. Watt.
“Sources: In recent weeks, multiple teams have been discussing whether they can trade for Steelers’ standout T.J. Watt, who skipped the team’s most recent minicamp,” ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter reported on June 30. “Pittsburgh hasn’t shown any willingness to deal Watt so far, but he’s unhappy with his contractual situation, and sources believe outside team interest is likely to increase given today’s trade.”
Schefter did add that the “Steelers have been adamant they want T.J. Watt to finish his career in Pittsburgh.”
NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero also weighed in on the Watt situation following the Ramsey trade, but his update had a much more optimistic tone than Schefter’s.
“The Steelers have no intention of trading star pass rusher T.J. Watt and their focus remains on extending Watt’s contract, per sources,” he reported. “Watt, who turns 31 in October, is due $21.05 million in the last year of his current deal.”
In a follow-up post, Pelissero noted that “the Steelers have been loading up on veterans this offseason, acquiring Aaron Rodgers, DK Metcalf, Jonnu Smith, Darius Slay and Jalen Ramsey, among others. They’re all-in on 2025 and that plan includes T.J. Watt.”
In other words, Pittsburgh is not interested in trading Watt, despite Schefter hinting that other teams have shown a willingness to pursue him. As of June 30, that much is clear.
NFL Insider Has ‘Hard Time’ Seeing Contract Negotiations Fall Through Between T.J. Watt & Steelers in Recent Update
During a recent mailbag article on June 11, Sports Illustrated’s veteran insider Albert Breer provided a Watt update of his own. Here’s what he had to say:
I have a hard time seeing how the Steelers don’t find some common ground with T.J. Watt on a new contract that’ll at least set him up to retire in Pittsburgh. He has $21.05 million left in the final year of the blockbuster deal he signed four years ago. That allows the team to fold a lower number into a contract with a well-deserved market correction. Watt is 30, and he has had his injury problems. However, he played in all 17 games the past two seasons with 30.5 sacks.
Bottom line: While Watt may not be the same guy in a year or two, it’s hard to envision him falling off, given the kind of worker he’s always been. The investment is a safe one.
I look at Watt’s situation similar to Trey Hendrickson’s in Cincinnati. I don’t think he’ll get a market-changing deal, but if Maxx Crosby and Danielle Hunter did extensions this offseason with new-money APYs in the mid-30s, Watt wouldn’t be out of line asking for something in that range.
Financial Details of Steelers’ Jalen Ramsey Trade
The full trade details of Ramsey and Smith to Pittsburgh can be found here, but the financial details were reported by NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport on June 30.
“The [Miami] Dolphins had previously paid Jalen Ramsey $4M this offseason and they added another $3M more to facilitate the trade — for a total of $7M,” Rapoport relayed on X.
He added that “the Steelers will pay the rest of the $26.6M this year.”
It’ll be interesting to see if Pittsburgh works out new deals with both Ramsey and Smith before Week 1.
