Pittsburgh Steelers' generational pass rusher, TJ Watt, was given nothing but respect by Buffalo Bills edge rusher and future Hall-of-Famer, Von Miller when Miller spoke on the The Pat McAfee Show. San Franciso 49ers TE, George Kittle, was mentioned in reference to the Tight End University that he has hosted since 2021 with fellow tight ends Greg Olsen and Kansas City Chiefs great, Travis Kelce. One of the focus points for the Tight End University was how to block the edge, something that Miller certainly has a great deal of experience executing at a high level, and it led to a similar event that Miller has hosted for the past six years and is looking forward to the seventh.
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Steelers insider Mark Kaboly (middle) joins Pat McAfee (left ) and AJ Hawk (right) from the league meetings in Arizona.
When asked about his event, the Pass Rush Summit, Miller was eager to get the word out. Miller went on to explain what it was all about and the kind of pass rushers that would be attending this year because Miller aimed to cast a wide net across many different levels of play.
"The Pass Rush Summit, June 10 in Las Vegas. This should be my seventh Pass Rush Summit that I've had. Got all the guys coming out. Of course, I invite all the top guys each and every year. I invite the guys that's on their way up, I invite the rookies, I invite the top college pass rushers as well, and we have some high school guys there as well. So, we're still going, we're still pushing, man."
However, it seems that despite having many quality players attend and participate in his Pass Rush Summit, there was still one player who Miller has yet to convince among all the excellent players who have attended: TJ Watt.
"We've had everybody come through there, from Myles Garrett, Khalil Mack... we haven't had the Watts yet, but I'm working on trying to get JJ Watt and TJ Watt there. I'm trying to find a way that I can get, you know, some money to pay these guys. You know, to get these guys here."
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Steelers edge rusher, TJ Watt (#90) celebrates after making a big play at then-Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, PA.
Immediately, host Pat McAfee was on board and wanted to know what the show could do to help get the Watts to Vegas - or even a future Summit. McAfee mentioned sponsors, Miller had brought up Doug Flutie as a QB participant from past Summits so "Flutie Flakes" were joked about for a moment, but then Miller went back to the Watt situation and had some words of high respect for TJ Watt, putting him right next to other generational players in the NFL.
"It's not a Pass Rush Summit unless you have TJ Watt there, Aaron Donald there, you know, Cameron Jordan there."
Miller went on to explain how his Summit is mistaken for an event where players are taught by Miller on ways to improve their own game. McAfee asked if Miller had encountered times when that misrepresentation of what the Summit was about ended up dissuading players from attending or participating:
"Some of these guys think that this is like Von Miller Teaching You, that is not what this is. I assume that you've heard that from people where TJ Watt goes, 'I'm not f---ing going to listen to Von Miller tell me what I need to do better.'"
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Steelers, James Harrison helped the Steelers beat the Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII.
More to come for Steelers' TJ Watt
When a player who will surely be in the Hall of Fame one day in Miller doesn't just mention you among other great rushers, but states that a Pass Rush Summit wouldn't even be that without you, it speaks volumes about the level of respect that is held. Steelers fans know all too well how quickly Watt is forgotten when the top rushers are mentioned, which is beyond ridiculous considering that it is an NFL-wide truth that James Harrison is an all-time great and is spoken of with a mixture of fear and reverence, but Watt will pass Harrison's sack total within the first few games (Harrison has 80.5 career sacks, Watt currently sits at 77.5).
Maybe it will just come off as a polite mention to get focus onto his event, but Miller had a choice of who to mention right out of the gate. He didn't bring up Micah Parsons, he didn't bring up either Joey Bosa or Nick Bosa; instead, he immediately went to TJ and his now-retired brother. The media across the league may not have remembered what a healthy TJ Watt can do to an NFL season, but with this kind of respect at his back, 2023 will be an exciting thing to watch!
