TJ Watt's extension talks just took a major hit

Miles Garrett just resigned with Cleveland for 4 yrs and $160 million....
Looks like JJ Watt was right about the Steelers making a mistake not getting a home town discount last yr....
It'll be that much harder to get a deal done now

 

Yeah, this is Khan's first big ooops in negotiating contracts!

 

I think the Browns had no other choice because of their Watson mistake. Garrett is the face of the franchise and one of the only things Browns fans are still holding onto.

That said, it will definitely impact Watt!

 

It's not ideal, and I'd hate to see it happen, but the best thing the Steelers could do would be to trade Watt for draft capital to fill holes and get younger. We have Herbig ready to step into a bigger role and just signed Highsmith to a big cobtract a few years ago. Steelers have too many holes to fill to pay 1 defensive player that kind of money, especially when it will cripple the team. It's why Belichek was able to keep the Patriots relevent so long, he knew when to trade or let players go even when they were playing at a high level (i.e. Richard Seymore)...and he had a franchise QB.

 

Apparently Garrett was more interested in $$ than winning a championship... ..

 

Garrett taking a contract like that hurts the Browns in bringing in other quality players to help that team get over the hump and compete for a chance at getting to the playoffs and championship game. Shows where his head is and the type of selfish player he is along with the Browns continued incompetence. Browns aren't close to winning so they should have tried to trade him. They paid him 5mil more a year than Max Crosby..smh.

 

It is a sport to us as fans. But to the players, this is a business. It's their job. It's in their best interest to come out of this with as much money as possible. I agree with you that his contract value will hurt the team's ability to gain other quality players. But I don't fault the guy for getting a good contract at all. At the end of the day, he has a responsibility to himself and his family, not to his fans.

All football players have a finite life. You're not going to be doing this for 40 years. Some of these players are only going to get one shot at a big contract. This is generational, life-changing money that we are talking about here. Take a player like Ryan Shazier. Great player, and a great team leader. He took a career ending injury and where is he at now? He is without all of those potential earnings that were in his future. Miles Garrett could have the same thing happen to him next year or anytime after that. When a player leaves the team, he's gone and on his own. You have the marquee players that never really go away, but they're still not making anything from being trotted out during a veteran's night. They get some applause and some good words and then they go back home to live their lives again.

If your boss at work said "hey, instead of giving you a raise, we're going to take that money and use it to improve our facilities. We will then get more business in here and make more money. The customers will enjoy the facility more and everybody will be happy! Would you take that deal?" Or are you going to be selfish and insist on getting paid?

I know that's an extreme example, but it's kind of what your suggesting he should do.

 

$40 mil a season will go a long way towards convincing one that they're on a Championship squad

 

Notable in Garrett's deal is that it includes $123.5M in guaranteed money.

By way of comparison, Watt's previous extension in 2021 was a 4-yr, $112M deal ($28M APY), with $80M in guarantees.

At 31, Watt is the oldest of the EDGE extension group this offseason (Garrett is 30, Crosby 28, Parsons 26, Hutchinson 25). Not sure if that will help them much in negotiations, but it does add risk to any deal with TJ.

 

I totally get what you are saying, and i dont blame him, but when Garrett said it's not about money and he wants to get traded because he wants a chance to win and compete for a championship, then your theory goes out the door. Now if the Browns said, we arent trading you, what can we do to make you happy...then sure take as much as you can get because the team at that point isnt willing to work with you and your trade demands. So if you have to suffer, suffer getting paid well.

 

As much as I love TJ, the same can be said if his contract hits that level, and likely will. He will be 1 in Oct. Is he over the hill? no. But at the tipping point, and to lay out that amount of CAP hit for aging player rarely goes well.

 

When the owner refused to have a personal sit down it really did not look good. While money may not have been the initial motivation, it was in the end, lol.

 

Its nothing but greed. The past year 2 years my company keeps offering me a higher paid position , and I keep turning it down I'm comfortable with the $$$ I make I have the days off I want the sched I Want Im able to go on vaca 2-3 times a year if I want... ...THERE IS MORE TO LIFE THAN $$$

 

Yeah, they're antiquated. There's a value in tradition and tenets, but at some point you have to change with the times.

Maybe somebody needs to remind Art the Constitution has 27 amendments.

 

Good time to call around and see what you can get for TJ

 

I agree. I love Wtt. He is my favorite player. However at this point we are in a rebuilding stage and we really aren’t a threat until we figure out the Qb situation. In addition teams have figured out all they have to do is double and triple team Watt and they essentially neutralize our rush. Pretty disappointing in the rest of the defensive front not being able to take advantage of Watt being double and triple teamed. I honestly don’t have faith anymore that our DC and Tomlin know how to utilize Watt effectively to take advantage of his talent.

What’s the point in having a Watt or a Minkah and constantly playing conservative defense. Tomlin only knows how to utilize these guys if all the positions on the defense have five star studs. He is afraid to blitz or disguise blitzes or coverages so he does these guys no favors.

 

27 in 249 years. I think we are still at the womans right to vote era. lol

 

The Steelers can play hard ball with Watt just tell him he will get a deal along the lines of Crosby, they don't have to make him the highest paid edge rusher.

 

I used to think Chad Johnson was a jerk, mostly because he was a Bengal. Then I recently saw a podcast segment where he was speaking about how frugal he is in life. Seeing the reports of all the guys who have made millions and are now penniless, then seeing this and Gronk's approach, I really appreciate it. I get the 'get all you can, because it's a short career", but living a life not because of your wealth, but enjoying life period is really refreshing.

 

Exactly, he will be 31 in October and will be the oldest out of the defensive ends vying for a new contract. He is on the wrong side of 30, plus he has an injury history, and we saw how other teams nutrilized him last year because of his unwillingness to move around. Additionally, Tomlin's & Austin's lack of defensive strategy, to maybe blitz his side or overload that side to prevent teams from using 3 guys to chip him, does not help. There is no creativity to scheme your best players open on either side of the ball and Watt is a prime example.

 

That is hardly refreshing. Hardball is seeing the end in sight, like with Hines and Troy, making the best decision and/or moving on. Missed with Rod Woodson, but error on the side caution in these situations.

 

Max Crosby is 4 years younger than Watt so I'd be hard pressed to be giving him the same deal as Crosby. I'm not saying Crosby is better but Watt could fall off in the near future due to age/injury concerns and now the team is handicapped by a massive contract to an aging player.

 

Probably not worth as much as we hope.