Ian Rapoport reveals where TJ Watt, Steelers stand amid contract negotiations, cryptic post

T.J. Watt posted a cryptic photo on Instagram of him fashioning a peace sign last week. Immediately, speculation began to run rampant. Does the star pass-rusher want out of Pittsburgh? Is he pining for a new contract with the Steelers? What did it all mean?

Well, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport is answering every and all question on the matter. During an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, Rapoport relayed that Watt is due for a raise after Myles Garrett’s monster extension with the Cleveland Browns. He expects it to come from the Steelers, but he’s not putting a timeline on the deal getting done.

“It’s hard to imagine that’s a potential reality,” Rapoport stated, regarding Watt and the Steelers divorcing. “When the Steelers have wanted to sign a player, and the Steelers have wanted to commit to a guy, generally, they have got it done. Now, it’s not always on the timeline we all want, right like, it’s not always on the timeline of, like, right now, where I could just hit send on the tweet and just kind of move on from there. A lot of times these deals happen right before training camp, because, remember, the Steelers have a policy of not negotiating into the season. So right before training camp is a time, and then right before the season is a time, like, there have been deals that have gotten done in Pittsburgh, I think, like the Saturday night before the season. So there is time.

“Now, if T.J. Watt wants to be paid more than Myles Garrett, I would say that makes sense. I mean, you could argue, who’s better. You could argue, if you were fielding a team, who would you rather have. But you really can’t argue that the statistics are that much different. I mean, they’re two premium, elite pass rushers, you know, still in their prime, even though both are a little bit older than, you know, their early 20s or whatever. You know, I would imagine that’s what he’s shooting for.

“Will he get it? I don’t know, because that’s more of a decision, like at some point in the process does he go, ‘All right, I have enough and we’re okay.’ But I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s what he’s aiming for, and that’s kind of what this off season has been about. You know Micah Parsons is aiming for the same.”

All told, Watt has been the heart of the Steelers over the past couple of seasons, and losing him would be detrimental to the team’s present and future. Rapoport believes the most likely scenario is he signs a long-term, monster extension with Pittsburgh. It’s a matter of when, not if.

The Steelers have a ton of question marks, but it doesn’t look like the future of T.J. Watt is one of them. He’ll be in black and yellow for the foreseeable future, as the two sides try to hammer out an extension to benefit their star defender.