Steelers make T.J. Watt the highest-paid non QB in NFL history | Former Steeler reacts

Steelers make T.J. Watt the highest-paid non QB in NFL history | Former Steeler reacts

We’ve got breaking news in a CBS Sports HQ where the Pittsburgh Steelers have agreed to a massive new contract with star pass rusher TJ Watt. According to our NFL insider Jonathan Jones, Watt will receive a three-year deal worth $123 million, making him the highest paid non-quarterback in the league. He’s a seventime pro bowler, four-time AllPro, league’s defensive player of the year in 2021. The stats are impressive, but for him and his team, you would have to imagine that 41 flat has him at the top. And it wasn’t all that long ago that Max Crosby actually reset that market for a highest paid non-quarterback. All right, we’ve got our lead NFL insider Jonathan Jones joining us, as well as two-time Super Bowl champ with the Steelers, Brian McFaden. And BMAC, I know you’re giddy to talk about it, but I got to get to JJ first. What more can you tell us about how this got done? Well, look, this got done because Miles Garrett got that contract. Remember, of course, Max Crosby sort of reset the market with the Las Vegas Raiders. It was around $35 million in average annual value. Miles Garrett wanted it out of Cleveland. Well, yeah, how about Miles? We just go like 5 million above the current market top and oh, all of a sudden, I love Cleveland. I will go from Cleveland to Kenton. But that uh was sort of a win for the Cleveland Browns in the AFC North, retaining Miles Garrett, paying him what they did, but also applying the pressure to both the Cincinnati Bengals and the Pittsburgh Steelers. This was before Jamar Chase and T. Higgins got their deals done. This is while TJ Watt wanted his deal done. And frankly, the Pittsburgh Steelers could have done this a year ago. Probably could have gotten away with 3435 million dollars a year. He would have been above a Nick Boso with the NerS, for example. But they waited and they waited until the final year of TJ Watt’s deal this upcoming season. So now you tack on these three years, $123 million. So that’s an average of $41 million per year. That is a lot of money. This will probably be for all intents and purposes very likely the last contract, the last big contract that TJ Watt ultimately signs. Going to be 31 under contract now for four more years. This is a huge, huge deal. making sure that you take care of a homegrown Steeler, especially after the Steelers went out, traded for DK Mechaf, a second sent a second round pick for him, paid him above what TJ Watt was scheduled to be paid. So, you had to make sure that you were paying TJ Watt and you didn’t want any holdouts or holdins going into training camp, right, BMAC? You wanted everybody to be happy, everybody to be copathetic. The old Steelers are using the new Steelers way, and the old Steelers are back, aren’t they, Bmac? That’s what you get when you have a happy a healthy TJ Watt. That’s what they have. Very happy TJ Watt. Pick it up from there. BMAC, what do we think? Yeah, I’m first and foremost, I’m not surprised. It was only a matter of time before they got a deal done. Uh to second everything JJ gave us in terms of the respect that TJ has within the building, in the city. Uh when you look at throughout the National Football League, the respect he’s been one of the more dominant pass rushers. So just knowing what the market was because of some of the other players that signed new deals at the past rushing position, it was only a matter of time because if you’re Aaron Rogers, you do not agree to become the the quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers knowing that TJ Watt won’t be in the building. If you’re Jaylen Ramsey, you don’t agree to accept the trade by the Pittsburgh Steelers knowing TJ Watt would not be a part of your defense. Those two individuals, in my opinion, they knew TJ Watt would be a part of this 2025 Pittsburgh Steelers and he would be a part of the team with a big-time smile on his face because he has the market value that he was trying to go get and it happened today. And to JJ’s point, this is a huge move because training camp is right around the corner. You don’t want to have any distractions in terms of off the- field is uh issues. This is all about getting back, getting dialed in, putting all the chips in the middle of the table and having having everyone available that can hoist they put their head in the pile to be able to hoist a sticky Lombardi. So big time move by Oman Khan and Mike Town today. And like you said, TJ Watt is smiling from ear to ear. Yeah, looks like there’s also some symmetry in our lower graphics. 108 career sacks at 108 seems to be out there as well in terms of the money guaranteed. So, BMAC, just to follow up on what I think JJ had also mentioned, like what does this deal tell us about this particular Pittsburgh Steelers team trying to get to the postseason, win a postseason game, and get back to the big game. They’re chasing a championship. This this tells me they’re chasing a championship because before today’s information, we heard speculation about well, should the Pittsburgh Steelers entertain trading away TJ Watt and maybe getting some draft capital for, you know, a a a a future first round or second round pick moving moving forward. No, this is about the hearing. Now, when you look at TJ Watt, he makes this team better right now. And like you said, he’s 31. We don’t know exactly what the future holds for him moving forward, but when you look at 2025, he’s a differencemaker right now. So, if you’re the Pittsburgh Steelers, I know when you look at what other teams have done, they’re telling us they’re fighting. They’re competing. They believe they have what it takes with the guys already in the locker room, especially getting TJ Watts signed to be able to not just make noise in the regular season like they’ve done in past experiences, but get into the playoffs and shake a few tables or two. That’s that’s been the missing element. not making any noise in the playoffs. So, when you look at this defense, you got Cam Hayward, he’s happy. You got Keanu Bittton who’s happy. You got Alex Highmith, you got uh uh Patrick Queen, you got TJ White, you got Jaylen Ramsey, you got Darius Slay. You have notable names that we’ve praised for their uh consistency in the National Football League that are ready to go to make this defense one of the more dominant defenses in the National Football League. It’s interesting when we talk about the offseason. Go ahead, JJ. My fault. Go ahead. No, I’m sorry, Tommy. I was just going to add on to that and just say, look, this is an all-in move for the Steelers. I remember uh back when they traded for Jaylen Ramsey and sent away uh Ma Fitzpatrick and I was talking about how this isn’t your grandpa’s or your parents Pittsburgh Steelers, you know, they did business in a certain way, right? It was homegrown talent and not going out there and a waiting on an Aaron Rodgers and trading for a DK Metaf, especially at the wide receiver position. But consider this. We talk about how steady, how consistent Mike Tomlin is. We just saw the graphic about how all these consecutive non- losing seasons. The fact is they have not had the playoff success. And at some point, right, you have to switch up your methodology in some way. If all you’re going to do is keep getting to the postseason, keep getting to the wild card round and then losing, well, maybe you need to reform how you go about your business from January into August, right? We know that they’re still going to be popping pads out there at training camp at St. Vincent’s College. Like they have one of the most intense training camps of any team that you will see year in year out. We know that Mike Tomlin is going to preach uh the things that he has the the pillars of his program year in year out. But how you assemble this team, this is brand new, right? for Omar Khan, the general manager of the Pittsburgh Steelers and really for this Pittsburgh Steelers organization. But you noted one thing, Bmac, and I’m so happy that you did. All that talk about, oh boy, could TJ White get traded? Of course, TJ Watt was never getting traded. I understand we have to fill the vacuum uh in the summer. Oh, potential landing spots for TJ Watt. Listen, if your team is blessed by the good Lord to have TJ Watt at 31 or 23 or whatever age, you don’t trade TJ Watt when you’re trying to play be a GM or whatever. You keep TJ Watt and you keep him happy. And that’s exactly what the Pittsburgh Steelers have done. Now, as we get ready for camp coming up soon, just BMAC, what have been sort of the early returns outside of the TJ Watt news about the new pieces that JJ had mentioned? Obviously Aaron Rogers the veteran quarterback there, but those trades that means new players being integrated to a new team. Well, I can tell you this much when you look at the mindset of what the Steelers have done just throughout the entire off seasonason going back to the draft. They’re headlining their team with defense. They’re getting back to the glory years. teams that I was a part of, they were headlined by defense and then a serviceable offense that played really sound football, especially in situational moments, and they didn’t shoot themselves in the foot. That is the mindset now because like I said, when you look at all three levels of this defense, you have notable names that are still playing highlevel football. So when you’re in a division, guys, when you have to chase Lamar Jackson, when you have to find a way to slow down Z Flowers, when you have to find a way to slow down Derk Henry, you better have some dudes that look like what they hunt, right? And you have that in Cam Hayward. You look at the first round draft pick from Oregon. You look at now getting TJ Watt, a second year with Patrick Queen. But then also, when you’re talking about trying to keep some other teams at bay, like the Cincinnati Bengals within your division, you better have some guys that can go cover at any given time. So then you bring in the Jaylen Ramsay’s of the world to go out and hopefully put some handcuffs on T. Higgins and Jamar Chase. Then you add in Darius Slay along with Joey Porter Jr. So these are moves that are strategically for divisional football because one thing Mike Thomas used to tell us all the time in the team meeting room, if you’re not relevant in your division, you have no ch no chance to be relevant in the entire NFL. So these are divisional divisional moves and hopefully the fruits of their labor will be shown week in and week out especially in divisional play. Postseason getting there hasn’t been the issue. It’s been winning. Of course they don’t have one since 2017 when Ben Rothosberger was the quarterback of the team and they have the Jets week one on CBS.

Jonathan Jones and Bryant McFadden join CBS Sports HQ to talk about T.J. Watt and the Steelers agreeing to an extension.

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