Steelers Get New Uniforms + Reacting To YOUR BEST TJ Watt Contract Comments/Takes

Steelers Get New Uniforms + Reacting To YOUR BEST TJ Watt Contract Comments/Takes

All right, so the Steelers got some new uniforms today. Let’s react to the promo video they used to officially announce it just a few hours ago. Can’t go wrong with the old school Pittsburgh footage. Pittsburgh earned the name Steel City. That’s kind of messed up. Back when Pittsburgh earned the name Steel City. like we’re not earning it anymore. Is that a slap in the face by the narrator there? We going too soft. I’d like to think we’re still tough here in Pittsburgh. It’s kind of messed up. Supposed to be a Pittsburgh promo video. This is supposed to be uplifting. Kind of a sideswipe there. I don’t know. I don’t know how I feel about it. Pittsburgh sports are down right now. They’re definitely down. I I don’t think it’s ever been this bad in my life, actually. Pirates suck. Penguins have missed the playoffs three years in a row. Steelers have been in nine and eight, 10 and seven purgatory. And pit football pit hoops. Pit football with Kenny was up this point. That was three years ago. I mean, we had an epic collapse last year starting off seven and0 and losing the last six. That was brutal. Last seven, actually. We lost the bull game as well. Pit hoops. I mean, yeah, we’re not even close to what we were with Jaime Dixon about, you know, 10, 15 years ago. So, yeah, this is this is a rough spot in Pittsburgh sports. I will say that. Anyway, let’s get back to the video. Same era of football team. All right, we got some Yeah, showing all the throwback jerseys here. Throwback footage, throwback players. I saw Ernie Stoner there, Rod Woodson. We are from that time period. Presenting a uniform that Hawkins back. A uniform for I mean the jerseys are sick. I can’t front. Find my They’re just putting a new spin on basically all the old school jerseys. That’s what it looks like. You got the gold helmet. Obviously, we wore the gold helmet with our 0708 throwback jerseys, but that was homage to when we wore the gold helmets and the, you know, 50s and 60s. And even before that, we didn’t have the logo, but it looks like our initial jerseys, we were rocking the gold helmets, even though those those weren’t really helmets. I guess they were leather helmets. So, there’s that. the 1933 jersey stripe. So instead of the Bumblebee, we’re rocking the OG jersey style. It didn’t have the numbers though. Instead of the numbers, there was the City Crest in the center, but for these jerseys, they put the City Crest up on the shoulder. the block numbers. That’s an ode to, you know, the 70s jerseys up till the 90s basically up until that 2000’s era, the basically the Big Ben era where we went to the itallic numbers and then the 1933 pants, those khaki pants. Saw those on the Bumblebee jerseys as well. And then the gray face mask, too, because when we saw the gold helmets initially as a throwback uniform in ‘ 07, it was the black face mask. Now we go to the gray face mask. So, there’s literally a combination of everything going on here. And I think it works. I think it works. I think they did this, let’s just be straight up, for business. because there were talks or there were hopes that we were just going to do the yellow helmets and do the Keller Rush jersey essentially cuz remember the ‘ 07 that throwback uniform. It’s basically the Keller Rush. It’s the yellow helmets, the Keller Rush jersey and then white pants with like the striped socks, the black and yellow striped socks. There was hope that it was going to be some form of that. But if the Steelers did that, people wouldn’t have to buy new jerseys, right? because you already had 07 that time period where that jersey was out and then we did the Keller Rush jersey recently and the Keller Rush is still available for sale. So, you had to mix it up a little bit and they couldn’t go Bumblebee jersey because we did the Bumblebee jersey too recently and again those were already out there on the market. So, you need something brand new and that’s what they came up with and I think it looks pretty cool. I do. I like the Bumblebee jersey. So this is like a form of that obviously with the tan pants, the stripe jersey. Instead of the horizontal stripes, it’s the vertical stripes. And it is a uniform that the Steelers used to rock back in the day. It was the OG jersey 1933. You could see that in our jersey timeline. And then the yellow helmets, it it was needed. I mean, we like what else were we going to do for the helmets of because the yellow helmets were the only other helmets we ever rocked. It’s been the yellow helmets and the black helmets, different face masks, but there was really no other option. And they put a new twist on it with the gray face mask as opposed to the black face mask that we rocked from back in the day. It’s cool. I I mean, I think it’s cool. Unless they wanted to make a whole new helmet, make a whole new jersey that didn’t have any ties to the past. But I think this is cool, man. I I think this is cool. I’m fine with it. I like the Bumblebees. These are very reminiscent of that, but new twist on it. The only thing is, so these are supposed to be worn against the Packers. Sunday Night Football, I believe, week eight or week nine. So, Aaron Rogers versus former team. I think both are going to be rocking the throwbacks. Packers are going to have their throwbacks on. I think it would be those blue ones with like the brown helmets. I feel like with Rogers facing the Packers, instead of doing this throwback uniform thing, it it just should have been Steelers in the classic black and gold home jersey. Maybe you throw on the block numbers and then the Packers wearing their normal away jerseys cuz that’s what Aaron Rodgers that that was the jersey that he rocked with the Packers. I mean, that’s that’s what we remember Aaron Rogers for in Green Bay, not these throwbacks that the Packers are going to have out there. And then kind of same with the Steelers, like this is cool, but it’s new. We don’t really have any history with this specific uniform. Obviously, the jersey has a lot of history threaded through it, but this is a whole new uniform in and of itself. So, I I think it would have been more appropriate just to rock the classic Steeler jersey that we know for like the modern era and the Packers classic jersey that we know for the modern era in that Aaron Rogers reunion game, but still a cool jersey. Still a cool jersey. Maybe we Yeah, we could have we could have picked a different one for this. But I get why. I get why. Two iconic his historic franchises battling it out middle of the season. I get it. I get it. But um all right, I think that’s it for the uniform. Any other thoughts that I had on it? Um no, I I think it’s cool. It’s almost like a Jordan retro fusion or like the Spizzes where they’ll throw, oh, this is the Retro 3, the Retro 4, and the Retro 5 all together and it makes a new shoe, but it’s you could see the uh influence from the past shoes on the new one just like this uniform. Uh, but that yeah, that’s it for the uniform. Wanted to talk some TJ Watt stuff because we left off last week. I gave my instant reaction to the Steelers signing TJ Watt to that big contract. But I wanted to cuz you guys had some good comments on the signing that I wanted to react to because as time has gone on had, you know, the last two, three days, the weekend to reflect on it and have some combos with friends and family on, you know, what what do you think of this TJ Watt deal? And I like it even more because more details came out on the contract. But also, as I said, I think you guys brought up some good takes and good perspectives that made me even like the contract even more when you really delve into it and think about it. So, Ashley Shrave 8812 says the cap hit is less than what it was and if we get our man next year, we don’t have to pay for five years. That looks to be correct because the contract details are completely spelled out on spot rack and the percentage is like 12 13% like the average per year salary for TJ is 12 or 13% of the salary cap which is more I believe is more than what his contract was on a per year basis. Uh I tried looking into it more on spot brack but you got to buy the premium account. So, I’m going to take your word for it. A lot of people are saying that that the 12 13% is less than what it was when we signed him to the big deal back in what was it 2020 or 2021. So, something to be said for that. And I because I was concerned whenever we were talking about giving TJ that big deal at the time that the Steelers have never divvied out that much of the cap percentage to a quart a nonquarterback player like even James Harrison, even Troy Palamalu like in their prime. So this was new territory. I was a little bit hesitant and just with how the NFL is and how much it’s offense and quarterback base particularly at that time I was heavy on dude it’s it’s all about the quarterback and I’m still about that right now like no matter what happens with TJ no matter what happens with all these moves the the secret is you need elite quarterback play you need a franchise guy to get this thing done late in the playoffs and win a Super Bowl. So we need Aaron Rogers to step up. No doubt about it. But we got Rogers on a very reasonable contract. And to Ashley’s point here, if Rogers only does the one and done, we’re going to have a quarterback for the next few years on a rookie deal, on a cheap deal, whether it’s Mason, whether it’s Will Howard, whether it’s the guy that we draft in 2026. So, we’ll still be able to afford TJ at the cap hit numbers that’s going to be in 2026, 2027. Again, we could argue whether that’s the smartest allocation of our resources, though, for sure. And I think it’s going to depend on what we do this upcoming season for whether or not it’s smart to keep TJ or or to trade him or or to move off the contract. So, I think that’s the story with this TJ deal. It’s not as much about us signing him right now. What do we do with it after this season plays out given all the information at hand once 2025 season closes? What do we do with it? I think that’s going to be the telling point of whether or not this was a good deal or not. Right now, this was the move we had to make. This was the smart move. Get TJ Watt in here 2025 all in. We have Rogers, etc., etc. what we do next off seasonason and how we handle it and how Omar Khan can maybe shuffle around the numbers if we want to keep TJ or if we got to trade him. That’s going to be I think the full story or the way we’re going to be able to grade whether or not this was a good deal. Uh Jonathan RH says he signed a less percentage for the salary cap than his previous deal. This is a win in every way. TJ is a Steeler for life. Awesome stuff. 1983 says it’s still only 15% of the cap, which might be less than his last deal at signing. Yeah, I think that is true. And then the dollars don’t matter. It’s the cap percentage. Dollars matter a little bit because it’s like what could we be using that 40 plus million for instead? Not as much about this year. As I said, it’s for 2026 and 2027. TJ Watt having a cap hit of 42 million at age 31. Would it have been better for us to pay him, you know, 2530 million and then you have that excess being used at a different position? Maybe we we could have spent 10 112 million on a safety uh on our third receiver next year. Whatever it is, right? That’s that’s where the dollars matter a little bit. Um but I get what you’re saying. and he says if we draft a quarterback this offseason, he’ll be on a rookie deal for a while. It’s an extension. So, we may have freed up some cap this off seasonason. We definitely have more cap this off seasonason. So, now the question is what do we do with it? Do we Yeah, because we’re I mean the cap hit for this season kind of as Jonathan Rhodess says, he signed a less percentage toward the salary cap than his previous deal. Uh freed up more space and we already had cap space. So, are we going to still go out there and sign another receiver? Are we going to sign a Justin Simmons, a Julian Blackman at safety? Like there’s And maybe we just wait till the trade deadline to make something happen. Maybe that cap space helps us at the trade deadline where we could give up a piece or two and bring in a guy with a big contract, but the numbers work out to, you know, the guy that we give up. Even though it’s not as big of a contract for the guy that we’re bringing in because of the cap space, we’re able to make it work. So, we’ll see. We’ll see. I think that’s because we keep talking about safety. Did we sign a safety this off seasonason still by training camp or preseason games or even before week one with Justin Simmons being out there, Julian Blackman or still bringing a receiver? I think I think we we’re going to wait and see what training camp looks like with Elliot Juan Thornnehillo at safety and just what the weapons look like on offense with this John Smith edition and then maybe even wait and see throughout the course of the regular season how it looks because again there is a trade deadline and obviously Omar Khan ain’t afraid to be making big swings and big moves like that but that salary cap space could maybe help us out and and net us a player get us a player that we wouldn’t have expected at this point in the offseason because you don’t know who becomes available necessarily as the season plays out and what teams end up being bad, what players they view as expendable and all that. Like what if who’s who’s like a big-time receiver right now on a bad team? Like what if all of the sudden Tyreek Hill or a Jaylen Waddle become available at the trade deadline? Dolphins are, you know, two and five, two and six to start the season. Uh, who else? A Calvin Ridley. Not as good of a player as Tyreek Hill. Maybe in the same class as Jaylen Wadd, but you get my point. Like some of these players we’re not really thinking about right now this off seasonason, but a lot can change once the regular season hits, games are played, and new information is revealed as teams either are good or bad as the season goes on. Um, now Marvy G brings up another good point here. Good. This got done before Parsons and Hutch extension because they will get paid more. We were going to sign TJ Watt. We just were. So it to his point, it’s better that it got done before Parsons and the Hutch extensions because those are going to happen as well. Now, I don’t I don’t think Hutchinson’s gonna get as much as TJ Watt or Miles Garrett because of the injury. I think he’ll probably get the Max Crosby deal, 35. Parsons, I could see having a record-breaking deal for sure. He’s been healthy. He’s bowled out his first four years. One of the best edge rushers, offball linebackers in the game. has that versatility and he’s in his prime. Not saying like Hutchinson’s still in his prime too, but coming off that injury kind of tough to get a record-breaking deal whereas Parson’s very understandable. Very understandable. So at least right if we would have waited for the Cowboys to pay Parsons and Parsons ends up getting 42, then that means TJ’s thinking I deserve 42 43 because I’ve been better than Micah Parsons. Even though Parsons is one of those elite guys, TJ Watt has been the best defensive player in the league for the last like five or six years. There’s no doubt about it. But you don’t pay out these contracts necessarily for what you’ve done. Now, that’s a part of it, but it’s also what you are going to do. And TJ is at 30. Michael Parson’s more in his prime. He’s at what, 25, 26. So TJ got his big deal when he was going in his prime coming off the rookie deal. Um either way, like yeah, Parsons is going to get that type of contract if I had to take a guess. Like are we going to be surprised in August? We wake up, Sports Centers on Michael Parsons record-breaking deal and it’s higher than TJ’s. We were going to get this TJ Watt deal done. Maybe we should have got it done sooner. I think that could be the complaint. If we were always going to get this deal done, why didn’t why didn’t we try to take care of business earlier this off seasonason? I don’t blame the Steelers for not getting it done like last offseason or anything like that because typically how they do business. If you’re going to get the extension, it’s going to be the offseason heading into the last year of your deal. That’s how we operate. It’s whatever. I’m like, I’m not really critiquing that. I’m more or less maybe critiquing us not getting it done before Max Crosby, Miles Garrett. Now, I I could also see why the Steelers wouldn’t have the foresight to think that the Browns were going to do the $40 million contract with Miles Garrett. Max Crosby getting his deal, 35, whatever. That that’s the Nick Bosa range anyway. Like TJ was probably going to be at least getting 36 37 based off of Bosa’s deal. Going to one up him. Max Crosby got that. Yeah. Yeah, and the Browns just, you know, did Browns things and messed up the market a little bit. So, uh, maybe the Steelers, you know, knowing your rival so much, maybe we should have predicted that, but that was just a weird situation. Miles Garrett says, “I want to go somewhere to win a Super Bowl.” Clearly not true. Didn’t care about that. Then signs for 40 million per year with the Browns. Browns aren’t winning a Super Bowl anytime soon. That contract for Miles Garrett doesn’t help them win a Super Bowl. Just crazy. So, with us waiting on the TJ Watt deal, we end up looks like paying an extra like four or five million more. We could critique that, but ultimately we got the deal done. We can afford it for this season. It’s not hurting us. We still have moves we could make, signings, trades, but we also have, I feel like, a ready-made roster that has a chance for the Super Bowl. Um, but that’s it for today’s show. Let me know your thoughts. Appreciate some of your guys comments and takes. I I think they were good perspective as as to why I feel like the deal is good. Like, it’s a it’s a fine deal. And after seeing the exact contract numbers, how the cap hits are divvied up, we can get out of it. We can get out of it if things go to hell this season if we have to. So, the verdict’s out on whether or not this was like a slam dunk move. We deserve or Omar Khan, the Steelers deserve an A+ for the signing or it’s it’s a bad move. Grade him a D or an F. I think it’s TBD to be determined. I think how we handle the TJW contract next off seasonason and the story of the 2025 season and how that plays out is going to determine how we view this TJ Watt deal. Um because if it goes to hell, but we can get off the contract, make a trade, get a pick for TJ, and then reboot things, then all right. I I think we look at the deal as it was still something you would do again given the all-in mentality that the Steelers have and the changes that they made. You’re still taking that chance, right? you’re still doing it again if you could if you had to rewind the clock just because even if we lose value on the TJ Watt trade because we didn’t trade him this off season and waited another year it was still worth the swing of seeing what this team looks like with TJ Watt with Rogers DK Jaylen Ramsey all that I I I’ll take the disparity and the draft pick value just to just to get a chance in 2025 just to have that hope just to have that potential spark of what if could this team actually be Super Bowl contenders? Uh, but that’s it. Again, uh, let me know your thoughts down in the comments. Appreciate you guys. Stay chilling. base.

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