Watt Worth $90M?

We could have kept our #2 corner from last year, Bud Dupree, Fitzpatrick. That’s 3 for one. That way one groin doesn’t put 90 million on the sideline

 

DB's are kind of useless without a pass rush. Eventually WR's will get open and it doesn't take long

 

At their peaks, I think TJ is better than JJ. Certainly TJ is better than current day JJ the past two seasons. But we got a real steal in the late 1st round in 2017. He's certainly better than Garrett who went 1 overall. Garret is no bust and is one of the best in the business but there's a noticeable gap between him and TJ. If the draft were redone in hindsight, Watt would probably go second behind Mahomes.

 

That’s why we could have kept Dupree and our NT Hargrave. Watt isn’t rushing anyone from the bench

 

But you don't hand out contracts, or not hand them out, due to a guy possibly getting injured when he hasn't shown himself to be injury prone.

There's not a team in the league that would have dumped TJ Watt due to his high salary. He's a game changer.

 

Dupree got over 80 million from the Titans, the Steelers would've had to pay him too

 

They were already paying Heyward and Tuitt big money, they weren't going to pay their NT big money.

 

Paying the right players is just as important as the draft. We wanted to pay Mike Wallace, LeVeon Bell, Antonio Brown got an extension immediately following the filming in the locker room. I personally think we are bad at making roster decisions. Trading draft picks for players that play about 5 games (kicker from Jacksonville, TE from the chargers, Melvin Ingram, numerous CBs that never stuck). This topic probably deserves its own thread. We are horribly bad at coaching people to get better and evaluating who to pay/ keep

 

Some think We have unlimited cap space.
I just seen someone post ....Bring in A. Rodgers, his Wr, fix the Oline, get Cbs, get MLBs, and sign Minkah. LoL.
I guess We are going 2 borrow cap space from 2 more years ahead, or someone is going 2 lend us some of their cap space.

 

Wow Dupree has made some serious loot in the NFL. He played on the franchise tag last year then signed an $82.5M contract with $35M guaranteed. That’s incredible and puts into perspective Watts deal.

Thanks Steelersrule6 for this point of view.

 

There is plenty of money you only run out when you pay the wrong people or you draft exceptionally well. Which one have we done?

 

I'm sure the Steelers shrine he has behind him in the video will not please SDOT either.

 

I'm going 2 find it now.

 

Huge man balls. We got new duct tape on the weight bench so money for ball wheelbarrows is a luxury.

 

Brooke Pryor had a story on it on ESPN.

 

I watched it on SI
I Loved that shrine, or what I could see of it with His thick a$$ body blocking most. LoL

 

Yes. Thread can be done now.

 

There are two principal aspects teams manage with their salary cap: dollars spent and valuation. The former of course is straight-forward; all teams receive the same amount to spend on player salaries each year, and they can do so however they choose. That leads to valuation. This is basically the measure of player performance versus the player's cap number, or cost, that season. Different websites are beginning to form equations measuring this, and while I haven't really found one that checks all the boxes, they certainly get you in the ballpark.

With respect to total cap room, the Watt contract isn't hurting the Steelers at all. Looking at 2022, the top three cap numbers belong to Watt ($31MM), Heyward ($17.4MM), and Tuitt ($13.9MM). Despite shouldering those (in addition to Minkah's current $10.6MM franchise tender for his 5th year option) they still have 40 active players signed to the roster with ~$43MM in space to spend. This gives them plenty of mobility this offseason to extend players like Dionte and Minkah. I think Sutton will get looked at as well.

Flip ahead to 2023, and the top three cap numbers belong to Watt ($27.1MM), Heyward ($22.2MM), and Schobert ($11.2MM). They have only 16 active players signed, and ~$140MM in cap space. They should be able to fill most of the holes just looking at their own free agents over the next two years (approximately 20 each offseason), in addition to their draftees. After that they'll look at budget-friendly non-tenders from other clubs that could serve as solid role-players here. These three tiers of players present more potential value. The worth of bigger name free agents is often a product of the market, more so than production, which lowers the production value of their contracts.

In a similar way, you could argue that even if Watt posts the same production next season as he has in 2021, he may 'earn' his $31MM, but his value will still decline. This often happens to elite level players once they receive their first contract. In Watt's case, he's obviously a better value at his $8.1MM cap hit this season than he will be next year at nearly four times that amount. But of course you still offer that contract. It's too special a talent at too important a position, and the Steelers easily have the resources to afford it without it detracting from other areas.

In contrast, you have the Rams. Next season they'll have four players with cap hits over $20MM: Donald ($26.7MM), Ramsey ($23.2MM), Stafford ($23MM - he'll likely be extended in the offseason), and Floyd ($20MM). Right behind them are Kupp ($18.3MM), Woods ($15.7MM), and Whitworth ($14.6MM). That's seven players, 13.2% of the roster, representing $141.5MM in salary, 68.0% of the team total. On top of that, their highest draft pick in 2022 is a third round comp pick. In 2023, they currently have a second, third, fifth, and sixth round pick.

While the Steelers have a lot of important decisions to make over the next couple of years, they're a long way from painting themselves into a corner with the Watt contract. I'm more concerned about them getting good value out of the next couple of drafts (the poor returns of 2018 and '19 still loom), and showing some savvy with signings outside of the draft that will help shore up the lines on both sides of the ball. They need to reclaim the trenches.

 

Wow, what an awesome post! Thanks for putting this into perspective.

 

Hell, too bad we can't swap them out, I sure the hell don't need mine anymore.

 

Great post! And I will be stealing it for arguments I get in with damn Eagle fans.

 

Your breathless, irrational enthusiasm for Pickett is noted, but it really doesn't have anything to do with this topic.

 

At least he isn't as bad as JJ. Damnation, JJ is like rice paper. JMO>