T.J. Watt skipped the Pittsburgh Steelers’ mandatory minicamp as he looks to land a new long-term deal with the franchise.
The two parties haven’t yet bridged the gap between them, but the Steelers remain steadfast they want to keep Watt, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports.
‘I talked to somebody with the team who said, ‘Look, these are complicated deals to do, but we are working on it. We want T.J. Watt here,” Fowler said in a recent appearance on ‘SportsCenter.’
Watt had been the subject of recent trade rumors amid the ongoing contract dispute. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported multiple teams had reached out to the Steelers about Watt.
Despite this, Pittsburgh doesn’t appear interested in listening to offers about Watt.
‘There’s not a lot of traction right now as far as a potential trade, though there would certainly be a lot of interest if the Steelers would tap into that,’ Fowler explained.
So, why then haven’t the Steelers yet agreed to a deal with Watt? Fowler outlined some of the hang-ups in negotiation.
‘People have told me around the league that it’s guaranteed money, it’s term length, a lot of the details that get sticky this time of year,’ Fowler explained.
Still, Fowler believes the likely outcome is Watt earning a record-setting contract from Pittsburgh.
‘This is a situation where he’s probably going to be the highest-paid edge rusher in the league when this is all said and done,’ Fowler said. ‘It just depends on when the Steelers can do it.’
‘Typically, they like to do their deals either around training camp or leading into Week 1,’ he added. ‘So this is far from over.’