The Pittsburgh Steelers could possibly be watching the final days of star edge rusher TJ Watt's time in Pittsburgh. As elite as he once was, he appears to be on the decline now. Unless he manages to catch a second wind, serious conversations will have to be had about shipping off the former face of the franchise to make way for the future of the team. A poor start to the 2026 season lead to the AP former Defensive Player of the Year getting sent off at the trade deadline for greener pastures and a chance to win in January.
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Steelers' TJ Watt speaking with the media after a 30-6 playoff loss to the Houston Texans in the 2025 NFL season.
If the Steelers do end up trading Watt, it wouldn't be for much most likely. In his latest column on ESPN, Bill Barnwell broke down how teams would likely see the star edge rusher during potential negotiations.
"As an extremely expensive player who turns 32 in October, Watt would only make sense for a handful of teams that see him as the last piece of a Super Bowl puzzle," Barnwell wrote. "Remember that the Broncos only got second- and third-round picks for Von Miller when they dealt their legendary edge rusher to the Rams, and that was with Denver paying down the rest of Miller's salary in the process."
At the time of being dealt, Von Miller was also 32 years old. He was an absolute legend for the Denver Broncos and even won Super Bowl 50 MVP. Needless to say, he was a very well-decorated edge rusher that made opposing offenses come up with entire game plans to shut him down specifically. It was the kind of talent that every NFL team wanted to make some sort of playoff push.
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Steelers edge rusher TJ Watt stands on the field as he enjoys a veteran day off while the team works out during a 2025 training camp practice at St. Vincent College in Latrobe, PA.
In 2021, there were concerns about his long-term viability. He had missed the previous season due to injury and had 4.5 sacks in seven games, signaling the start of his decline. That likely scared a few teams off, but not the Los Angeles Rams. The poor play made it so they didn't have to pay a premium to get him and put him in position to thrive on his new team.
Instead of having to carry the team like he had to in Denver, Miller was brought in to be just another piece of the puzzle: the final piece, in fact. His sack numbers didn't change much with the Rams, but he still became more of a menace in the backfield with 12 tackles for loss in eight regular season games in Los Angeles. He really turned it on in the playoffs with four sacks and six tackles for loss, leading to another Super Bowl victory.
Steelers May Not Even Get As Good Of Compensation As The Rams
As Barnwell mentioned, it cost a second- and a third-round pick for the Rams to acquire the former Super Bowl MVP. While the football world saw him as a man who got better in the playoffs, Watt hasn't seen that much success in the postseason, as he has never been part of a team that won a game when the lights are the brightest. He was once the best edge rusher in the NFL and still has talent, but that record in January may haunt the Steelers.
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Former Steelers HC Mike Tomlin observes practice during 2025 training camp while star pass rusher TJ Watt runs drills.
Like the Broncos, the Steelers would have to eat a lot of Watt's salary to get any sort of viable compensation. No one wants to trade for a $40+ million player who has not shown any signs of reaching that generational form he once had. If the Steelers ship him off, they're likely not buying anyways, so they can afford to pay his entire salary for the rest of 2025 and use that to upgrade the pick they receive to maybe a second-rounder.
What do you think about Watt's trade value being compared to Miller's when he got dealt to the Rams? Let us know on X at @Steelers_ChrisB.
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