LB Nick Herbig and the Steelers have agreed on a four-year, $100 million

I tend to agree. At a minimum, with there being 2 OLB positions, even if Watt and Highsmith both play 75% of snaps, there's another 50% of OLB snaps on the table. That's before any injuries.

I could see something like 55/55/50/30/10 between Watt/Highsmith/Herbig/Sawyer/Others

Or to your point, packages that get all three on the field at the same time. Graham has been talking about building the defense around his players. Well, here's a chance to do that.

Getting the Herbig deal done gives them options more than anything else. They don't have to do anything right now. They're basically stuck with Watt, Herbig, and Sawyer given their respective contract situations. And with Highsmith's deal, they can trade him at any time between now and the 2027 trade deadline. There's no reason to rush it, especially if they're not satisfied with what the market is returning.

 

I know you didn't just use a fan account as a source .

 

I don't think he's done being good, but I do think he is done being an elite player. He is done being worth over $40 million a year.

There are outliers regardless of position, but the comparison to Boswell was ridiculous.

 

I understand using Heyward, though interior linemen like him tend to age better than edge rushers, but bringing in Boswell is just ridiculous. He was a 31-year-old kicker. There was no reason to think that was an age-related decline.

 

They likely were not trying to trade him until they got an offer they couldn't refuse. Story has come out that this trade was in the works for months.

 

Good trade bait for next season.

If they do give Porter a big contract then could have over $323 million in total contract value for 3 defensive players(Watt, Herbig, Porter). Allocating roughly 30% to 32% of the total team cap to just Watt, Herbig, and Porter forces a massive organizational shift. That is unless my numbers are wrong.

 

True.


People tend to forget that these types of transactions don't happen within a 24 to 72 hour span. Takes months of careful negotiating and coordinating with the other party. Complete obfuscation here but the Myles Garrett deal reminded me a bit of when Microsoft purchased Activision Blizzard.


.... they are the publisher that makes Call of Duty. Final sale was $68 Billion I believe. Problem is?! Microsoft has yet to get any ROI from it.

 

I don't know why You must add age, they both were said to be done. What I know for a fact is both Heyward, and Boz since I've been on this board has both been said to be done by multiple people, and both have been brought up that we needed to get rid of them because they were done, and yet both have played so well since that time that most of the people who actually said it, wont even admit it. That's all I know. So again, I will wait, and see.
I don't have precognition that I know of.

 

None of us do, but we can apply what we know to the situation and make an educated guess. Kickers age better than edge rushers. This is inarguable among the sane. As kickers go, Boswell's bad year came at a point in his career when there was no reason to even consider that age was a factor. That isn't true of Watt. Boswell's situation was, and continues to be, a poor comparison to Watt's.

Heyward is a better fit, but again, edge rushers tend to decline faster than interior linemen.

 

I want it now. LoL

 

You are totally missing the point just to argue.
The point > Both Boz, and Heyward were both said to be done on this board by as many people that has said Watt is done. Both have played so well since then that most of those same people have disappeared, and acted like they never said it.
So with that said, I will wait , and see, and I guarantee if Watt looks great this year the same people that said he was done will either disappear, act like they didn't say it, or....., or come up with some excuses of why he is not done yet, and not that they were wrong, but because of something else.

 

I'm not missing the point at all. I'm telling you why the situations were different. I don't have to argue the premise on your chosen terms.

To be clear, I'm not saying that Watt is done. I'm saying that it is likely he is done being an elite player. The guy he was in 2025 wasn't worth over $40 million.

 

Yes You are missing my point. You clearly understand that we both can have different points, so why don't you understand that my point is Boz, and Heyward were both said to be done, that's what happened, and they both clearly weren't done. So I will wait, and see. That's my point. Your point is something else, and I don't begrudge it.

 

You are ignoring the age factor in these things. If Watt had a down year at 28, I would be much more inclined to believe he would bounce back to elite levels.

 

Because not everyone ages the same, and it's not my point. LoL

 

I don't understand why anyone would have to go. If he backs Watt, and , or Highsmith when they are nicked, or taking a breather, that's plenty of snaps a game. It would almost equal the time the starter is playing

 

Same story with AJ Brown;

We know the A.J. Brown trade didn't just happen overnight. Behind the scenes, the Eagles and Patriots had been circling a deal for the star receiver for months as both sides tried to gain the upper hand. But now, with more details of the negotiations coming to light, it turns out Philly was willing to play hardball to get exactly what it wanted.

“I don’t really care about the fifth-round pick,” Boston Sports Journal’s Greg Bedard said on 98.3 The Sports Hub. “But the league thinks that that was how Howie Roseman threatened to delay the timing. That Howie Roseman went to them, but like, ‘Now I want more than the 2028 first-round pick.’

“‘So in order to do right by my owner, we’re going to hang on to them through at least the mandatory minicamps around the league,’” Bedard continued. “‘See if anybody gets hurt, could hold them until training camp, who knows, but you know, that’s just not enough for us. So we want a sweetener.’”

A first-round pick was always going to be the price to bring Brown to Foxborough. But Bedard believes New England had to add the 2027 fifth-round pick on top of the 2028 first-rounder as the “sweetener” as Roseman had all the leverage in the world to pressure the Patriots.

 

Since the cap started gave the Steelers ever had a cap problem where they couldn’t sign a player they wanted

 

TJ Watt is more of a technique guy, not overly powerful. This might actually be a positive for TJ's longevity because I would think once power is gone, it's gone. I'm thinking TJ's ending will look similar to someone like Von Miller. Last burst around age 34, 8-10 sacks with some missed games. When he plays, he will be a disruptor. After that, he's a rotational player (if he doesn't retire).