A new coaching staff surely means there will be roster changes for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Whether the changes are major or minor remain to be seen but one player whose future has been speculated about is T.J. Watt, mostly due to his age, contract and a 2025 season that wasn’t up to his lofty standards.
The hiring of Mike McCarthy as head coach and Patrick Graham as defensive coordinator will increase the likelihood of Watt returning in 2026, according to insider Ray Fittipaldo.
Appearing Saturday on Sportsline with George Von Benko on WMBS Radio, Fittipaldo shared his thoughts on the likelihood that Watt would return and what the fit would be in Graham’s defense.
“I think with Mike McCarthy and Patrick Graham being hired, I think it increases the likelihood that T.J. will be back,” Fittipaldo said. “And I’m not entirely sure that even if they went in a different direction with the coaches, that he wouldn’t have been back. This is a long-time Steeler, one of their so-called one-helmet guys, and they do everything they can to make sure guys like that retire with the Steelers.”
McCarthy has already said that the Steelers will be sticking with their 3-4 base defense which makes sense given the talented edge rushers that the Steelers employ, including Alex Highsmith, Nick Herbig, and Jack Sawyer, along with Watt. Graham has experience in his last coaching stop with the Las Vegas Raiders working with an elite pass rusher in Maxx Crosby.
“Patrick Graham coached Maxx Crosby for the last four seasons. They’ve got a lot outta Maxx,” Fittipaldo continued. “I would imagine that with some tweaks in the scheme, maybe some doing some different things with T.J., that they can start to get more out of T.J. as well. This wasn’t a bad season for T.J. It just wasn’t a typical T.J. season, and I think everyone, including T.J., wants to see them get back to that.”
As Fittipaldo mentioned, it wasn’t a typically dominant statistical season for Watt in 2025. In 14 games, he registered seven sacks and tacked on three forced fumbles and two interceptions. Questions about Watt’s age, he will turn 32 during the 2026 season, and the large contract extension that he signed last summer will loom over any discussions about his future.
If Graham is able to learn from his four seasons with the Raiders and utilize Watt in similar ways that Crosby was used, it will be a major boost for the Steelers defense.
Crosby made the Pro Bowl in each of Graham’s four seasons in Las Vegas and reached double digit sacks three times, topping off with 14.5 in 2023. Perhaps a fresh set of eyes from a coach who has experience with an elite pass rusher will help Watt return to form in 2026.