Watt: Indulge in this thought exercise

Alright from the outset I want to state that my personal opinion is that TJ Watt should retire having played his whole career in Pittsburgh and stand with long time Steeler greats.

That being said we can't ignore the current trends on clickbait articles online, local talking heads in the area and a growing number of fans who think the team would be better served by trading Watt. Both as a means of saving money and acquiring future talent through draft picks or other players in that trade. So let's indulge in that thought exercise.

Give your opinion on what Watt could be traded for, the team or teams, the players and picks involved. Make whatever justification you want about striking while demand is up and a sellers market for a player in the prime of his career. If you need to drag out the tired justifications of what has he gotten them go ahead and do so to what ever end you see that going to.

Please don't give the magic beans argument where the Steelers could redo the draft class of 74 with the haul they get because that won't be happening.

But if you want to discuss trading him then go ahead and give the reasons just to get it out there.

 

Obvious he is a Pittsburgh hero to me but I want Championships and I was on board to trade him last season. Older he gets the value goes down. That said, I do believe TJ has another year of kicking ass.

 

Huge TJ fan...but I would 100% trade him, for him and for the Steelers, if the compensation was right!

 

A lot. That's what I would have to have to trade TJ. A lot. Why trade a DPOY candidate in the hopes of drafting a DPOY candidate? It's not like we have his replacement already on the team. I'm never for replacing great players with good players. What you do is bring in the guy that replaces him, then start listening to offers.

 

Honestly not sure the haul would be that big at this stage. He is 31 in October and would need to be paid after you trade for him.

I don’t think they should trade him and I would hate to see them do it. You make draft picks hoping to get someone like TJ and I don’t think the team is as far away as many people seem to believe. If they can manage to find a QB things will look much better really quickly

If he was to be traded two teams that make sense are Green Bay and Chicago as they are close to where he grew up and I know he spends a lot of time back there in the offseason. I think you’d get a late first round pick for him and maybe a later pick the following season but hard to say how other teams would value him.

 

I’m going to be a horrible broken record about this so I apologize up front.

Until Tomlin and his mediocre schemes, game plans, and coaching is gone we aren’t going anywhere than where we are - a purgatory of +mediocrity 9/10 win seasons with plenty of frustrating wins and losses.

“You are what your record says you are”. - DG

TJ is the only jersey that I personally bought after I gave my three A.Brown jerseys to the goodwill. I love the dude and everything about him on this team, but if it’s truly good for both parties then do it.

Tomlin is here for three more and that takes Watt right out of his prime.

The Steelers record without him is pathetic, but it’s only mediocre with him. Mostly frustrating, pesky, heart attack and in the end wins that feel as dirty as they do ugly. Rarely fun.

Get this good guy to a team that he can win a ring and hopefully we get a haul of a couple drafted players who can collectively add up to his value and be seasoned for the next coach.

 

Maybe Watt should show up in the playoff games with his one career sack in the playoffs .

 

I don't think you can just look at it as trading a DPOY guy for someone who might be a DPOY guy. Having a DPOY player on our team has still gotten us no further than 1 and done. Maybe we drop salary cap and gain multiple picks for him. The question becomes, what is he worth? He is definitely a top 10 pick guy at the level of play he is at, but he is aging too. I don't think trading him straight up for a 1st round pick is enough for a proven performer like him....(at least in a draft like this year where our absolute must have player is probably not in the top 10). I would want something like a 1st + a 6th. Maybe a 2nd + a 4th. Or a 2nd, 7th and a veteran player that can fill a hole we currently have. Something along those lines.......

I think you have to factor in youth and rookie contract cost as a part of the value in that trade. Yes, we are giving up a superb team player. But, we are dropping salary, locking in a new player for 4 to 5 years at rookie rates, gaining youth, and hopefully finding new players that might not be DPOY but will make the team stronger and help us go past one and done.

 

If our coach coached the team to the playoffs more often .....................

TJ would have more chances to show up..............

 

TJ and GP

for

Kirk, Bijan Robinson, and Drake London

sorry I don’t trust this management team to draft and develop to make it worthwhile to get picks.

 

A RB is dependent on the OL and the Steelers have trailed in every game, not many opportunities to establish a running game. Watt against the Ravens in the playoffs this past season had zero stats in the game .

 

Why would any team trade for Kirk and that contract?

 

I think we are in another Big Ben situation here with TJ. You can't afford to lose him and you have no one that can replace him.

 

Taking Kirk is the sweetener in the deal to try to balance it to something plausible. Plus potentially addresses a need.

 

If he wants to be considered one of the Steelers greats he needs to perform in the playoffs, one career sack in the playoffs isn't going to cut it . Najee wasn't underachieving he just played in crappy offenses with a bad OL.

 

It's not worth it Kirk can't move in the pocket.

 

While teams often say everything or one is open for trade, there are players you simply not going to trade, TJ is one of them. Unless he asks to be traded, the monetary amount he seeks is just ridicules (which in his case may be, but a deal will likely get done), Or after a meeting both sides agree that the best option is to seek a trade...that best option seeing the vision for both cannot be met at this time.

I get that TJ wants to win, but have not heard anything on media that suggests he wants out, he may, but it has not been reported (at least anything I have seen). Yes the team is at a crossroads, you get a TJ in a generation, but that time does come to an end, you either re-up him, paying a future amount that exceeds the abilities (not always, but most likely), or you pull the plug and try to retool. Not convinced they see the need to retool and continue on doing business as usual.

 

When we rely on one player too much that’s what going to happen by the end of the year. He participated in 86% of the defensive snaps, only behind Minka, Porter, Elliott and Queen. But those guys don’t need to battle 300lbs linemen on every one of those snaps. At 938 snaps that’s over 100 snaps more than Hendrickson or Garrett and 160 more than the next closest Steelers front seven guy Heyward. The coaches need to better utilize Watt

 

Trade him for 2028 picks. Maybe Tomlin will be gone by then.

 

Najee didn’t underachieve

He just is who we thought he is

And what 32 NFL teams thought he is

His contract is 19th for running backs which is appropriate

Two spots behind Warren who obviously the team prefers