Dulac hints we might trade Watt...not as crazy as I initially thought?

Please read what the reply indicated. Most of the team is young.

Now....if you want to argue they all stink....that can be done....but move on from like 5 guys and this is young roster.

 

I'm not sure Cam would retire.

I think he'd take a trade if it sent him to a contender.

I think he really, really, really wants to get into the HoF. And he's right on the borderline now.

If he could get a playoff run where he plays well and gets a ring, would that put him over the top from the edge case he is now?

And if he goes to a team that's going to have multiple score leads with any regularity, would he get the extra sacks he'll need to get to 100? I think the answer is no, but if we had any kind of offense over the last 5 years I think he would have gotten there.

Same with Watt. Imagine how good his career would have been if we had good offenses that gave us big leads with any kind of frequency? Garrett too for that matter (but F the Browns).

 

are you sure especially if you compare it with the rest of the league?

 

Not a single decision or trade matters until Tomlin is gone. He is the common denominator for all the bull**** that has gone on for 10 ****ing years.

Until that is done, there is really nothing positive that can be done to shift morale to hope.

 

Exactly. We saw how letting an outgoing GM picking the Franchise QB worked out.

This team needs to draft and fill the roster based on the head coach and system. It would be organizational malpractice to let Tomlin be involved in any major decisions, especially QB, if they are just going to let him walk at the end of 2026 or 2027.

There is no point in keeping Tomlin if he is not part of the long term future, other than the owner cares about the meaningless 'Dur Hur, Never Fired a Coach' mantle.

Keeping him one more year and letting him be involved with the development of any of the potential 10-12 draft picks is a bad idea.

 

teams know our CB’s play 5+ yards off the LOS, and our DB’s in general get confused, so they take advantage of this

 

Only 5 non kicker starters are over 30. Majority of the roster is under 29.

 

Bottom line…we need to keep Herbig…we either need to get rid of Highsmith or Watt.

One of them has to go.

 

Agree with this. TJ Watt has not become an average player overnight. Teams are getting the ball out vs the Steelers in 2.4 seconds, fastest in the NFL. The pass rush has no chance to get there when the ball is out that quickly.

That said, I saw a stat lately showing TJ’s ‘get off’ has slowed considerably. Either he is playing through something or he has slowed down. Even allowing for team scheming him out of the game that contract they gave him does not look like good business, unfortunately.

Looking at OTC he is tradable in the offseason but it’s hard to imagine any team trading for that deal they gave him.

 

Surely Cam has already done enough? 5 All Pros and a Walter Payton Man of the Year. He won’t be first ballot but I expect that if he retires this offseason he will get a gold jacket at some stage.

I do agree that if he got a ring it would be an absolute certainty. And yeah the latter part of his career has been tough going with virtually no support from the offence.

 

Need to draft a DL with any trade picks. A true anchor, not a Benton type. Probably should consider moving to a 4-3 since they rarely play in base 3-4 anymore.

 

Was curious about this so looked it up:



When the DBs play 10 yards off the ball it just becomes pitch and catch all afternoon. Steelers need another legit CB and they need to get press man covers. That was apparently the plan this season but it failed badly when Slay failed and Elliot got injured. They didn't have a backup plan other than to go back to soft zone covers and tackle the catch.

 

signing Watt to this latest extension is same reason Steelers won't fire MT. Steelers reward loyalty and character.

 

I hope so because I like Cam (even though he's declining).

I just don't trust Peter King...who wouldn't even vote for Troy! And I'm sure he'll have an excuse to not vote for Ben (Midgeville probably).

And I think they just changed the way they vote, which sounds like it will make it harder for guys to get in.

 

FWIW, I think another big reason they signed Watt is because he's the face of the franchise.

And so it is Tomlin (for better and worse). Especially since we arguably don't have an elite player on the team (because Watt has been less than elite this year).

 

TJ is a guy that 'we've already bought and paid for' in general terms.
He can most definitely be a role player and should not be an every down guy.
but really, the powers that make up that side of the biz, could have gotten more value in trading those guy last year or the year before where someone in search of a championship would have paid a decent price that in turn would have put us in a spot to draft impact players.
But bless their hearts, they are just not that savy.

But I am surprised at these numbers.

I think you're spot on with Cam. He's probably going to retire.

 

This is the difference between say Philly or KC and the Steelers. Those teams have no problems trading away a player that is off their peak years but still of high value. This is more of an owner issue than a GM issue. Rewarding loyalty is old school thinking. The corporate world figured this out about 10 years ago when 30 yr guys were ushered out the door for cheaper, younger guys.

 

He should have---Been-- TRADED already or not given that high amount of money---He has not won a playoff game or championship-Cam should have been gone too. They have no respect for the Steeler way. They say they do they play hard--SOMETIMES--but they must play hard every game.100 percent. Do they--I don't think so.Look at Troy or Woodson--played hard always even Ben--- Bettis---Ward. All did. No, these Steelers are for money and themselves. GET EM OUT OF HERE.

 

The time to trade Watt was last year or the year before, He was a perenially DPOY candidate, always getting in the top 3 in voting. He was getting less on his old contract.

Now, he's essentially the highest paid defensive player in the NFL, but is playing as like a slighty above average player. He's 31, he seems to lost the explosive 'jump', his play style likely means missed injury time going foward.

I can't imagine, he'd fetch much return in a trade. The only teams that might be interested are contenders that need pass rush help and think getting Watt might help. But with his pay and his performance, I can't see that he'd bring back more that a mid-round pick.
Even a year ago, people speculated that he might bring back a 1st rounder or more. No way that happens now.

 

They need to focus on one thing, finding a franchise QB. The clock on a championship run doesn't start until that player is on the roster. If they believe he is in the 2026 draft, they should move mountains to get him, even if it means trading Watt, Tomlin, or both.

Part of me hopes the Ravens roll them so they finally shift their attention to 2026 and give Howard some snaps. It would be a shame if their future QB is already on the roster and they head into the draft without knowing it.

 

Not sure his value is that low. Some dumbass coach is going to think he just needs a change of scenery and a better scheme. The Steelers should have traded him this past offseason, but that is just one among many ways they screwed up this team since the end of the 2024 season.

 

This is what made BB the GOAT GM IMO (better GM than coach IMO too).

Not sure this is true re: KC. If so, they'd probably trade Kelce because he's a great definition of "off his peak years but still of high value".

It's also the case that teams with high cap hit QBs kind of get boxed into these moves sometimes. For example, it was stupid for the Bengals to drop do much money at WR when they have an elite QB (when he's healthy). They should have traded one (maybe both?) of those guys to build up a D and let Burrow elevate whatever decent rookie contract WRs they could find.

Instead they opted for the "we don't need to pay defense" strategy.

 

It didn't happen overnight. It started last season. You even said in your own post that you saw a statistic demonstrating that his "get off" has slowed. I've been saying this for over a year. Edge rushers normally don't age well. The signs were there last season. The worst part of all this is that it was predictable and the Steelers still screwed it up.

 

Is it?

Chris Jones and his contract might beg to differ.

Teams pay through the nose for QB, Pass Rusher, and LT. You have a number of players on the third contracts at those spots that are not producing up to their pay scale. It is taking place all across the league.

 

That doesn't mean it is a good idea. Watt vastly underperforming his contract was predictable. I know because I predicted it and I'm just some guy on a message board. The Steelers should have known better.