Will TJ Watt get an extension before the regular season starts?

The Rooneys are worth over a billion. That does not mean they have hundreds or even tens of millions in liquid cash on hand to tie up in escrow for years on end. Most of their wealth will be in assets, property and investments.

The team gets about $300m a year from the revenue sharing agreement and the rest of the team income is local revenue, that local part has been decimated over the past year and is bound to have hit cash flow.

Steelers have generally paid their players well but have kept fully guaranteed money at signing comparatively low, restructuring and in turn guaranteeing money as they move through the contract. There is a reason for that approach.

I do think they’ll find the money to pay TJ btw.

 

Where are you getting that?

 

If people who witnessed and/or have read the "Rod Woodson Saga" expect a encore presentation, prepare to be sorely mistaken. The Rooneys already learned that lesson dearly. They will not be making the same mistake twice.


Why some still somehow, someway mix up the likes of Art Rooney II for Jerry Jones is beyond me.

 

I've never understood that Rod Woodson Saga .
He got hurt wasn't Himself again. They offered a contract, and asked 2 change positions he said no. Left for money in 49er vill, and proved He wasn't Himself anymore. Changed positions for the ravens.
Whats the mistake on Rooney????

 

The mistake was that Rod Woodson still had plenty left to provide even after his horrific ACL Injury in 1995. Of the 71 interceptions he made during his career, 33 were after he left the Steelers; the other 38 coming from his time here. That still constitutes as a horrific mistake.


What is even more damning is that Rod Woodson was still playing at a high level in 1996 despite those injuries and never mind being able to play in the Super Bowl months prior to the 1996 Season. Regarding the 49ers letting him go? Salary cap woes; Kevin Greene also being a Cap Casualty. Also, yes, it is true that Rod Woodson did end up switching positions... but who is to say that would have been an option had he stayed with the Steelers?


Overall, that was and is, to date, the second greatest failure of the Rooney's since the AFL/NFL Merger; Dan Marino being the first and rightfully so. Since the Rod Woodson blunder (along with some harsh realities league wide in part to Free Agency as a whole), the Rooney's learned that a player will be paid for what they are worth proportionate to not just performance but the market of that position as well; Big Ben, Troy Polamalu and Maurkice Pouncey being reaffirmation of the lessons learned in the aftermath. T.J. Watt will be getting paid; fan support of a $30+ Million per year deal or not. Soon after him, Minkah will be as well.



The Rod Woodson Encore Presentation was scrapped in 1997 as Pittsburgh was searching for their next big playmaking Defensive Back. Took the team six years to acquire another HOF talent in the secondary. After Troy retired, took the team only four but via a trade.



In short? I think it is safe to say the Rooney's are not letting such talents walk like that again. Furthermore and, before his name is brought up, Alan Faneca is an outlier as he was bitter about his contract status and was over 30 at that time; showing decline as the 2007 Season neared the Steelers conclusion. Afterwards, he never sniffed another All Pro Award again after being released in 2008. Rod Woodson was a major reason as to why the Baltimore Ravens 2000 Defense had as much success as it did. Remove Rod Woodson from that Defense and that 2000 Defense is not even close to being the same unit; Ray Lewis or otherwise.

 

Still 3/4 after he left the Steelers are not as a CB.
So.
He proved in 49ers He wasn't a good CB anymore. That's why the switch in ravens nest.
Not Rooney's fault he wouldn't change positions for us. Still don't see the problem. Woodson was the problem, and because we hurt his feelings by telling him the truth, he went 2 the ravens 2 change.
Again Woodsons fault.
That's why I cheered My A$$ off when Ward knocked his A$$ out.

 

wasn't it Ed Reed who Ward obliterated?

 

I think even if you franchised him twice, you'd still save money on the second year. That's 3 more years. By then he's 30. Let him go.

30 million for a LB is absurd.

 

Not really. All Rod wanted to do was prove that he could still play. As you said, 3/4 of Rod Woodson still far exceeded any Steelers CB on the Roster in 1997 onward. For that matter, heck, even 3/4 Rod Woodson far surpasses even those 2000s Steelers CBs. Much of this though still does not explain the 33 INTs soon afterward; ridiculous production for a player who was perceived to be over the hill.


What was the biggest factor was the aftermath of Woodson's departure; a nearly decade long wait to search for another mold breaking Secondary player.. the man in my avatar. From 1997-2002, all I can say is ouch to that secondary.... and I mean ouch! Once again though, a non factor in regards to what was the lesson learned here; NEVER let HOF Players with plenty left to provide walk.



T.J. Watt has WAY TOO MANY YEARS left to showcase his abilities. Letting him simply walk would possibly supersede even the Steelers letting Woodson walk.

 

This is a fantastic idea!!!..... except there is one major glaring issue....



Is there a T.J. Watt talent in 2022? I can only think of one such player in that class... and that player would be Drake Jackson; a reputed Top 10 pick. Unless the Steelers finish with a record that bad, I seriously doubt Mr. Jackson will be available to the team barring injury. Heck, even if he was with the team via a dismal record, Pittsburgh does not have the luxury of drafting a player when this will likely be it for Big Ben. Finding his successor is paramount; the options in the 2022 class not looking to particularly good unless at the very top; the very top alone being suspect at best at present. However, that is not the biggest negative of all of this; remove T.J. Watt and all opposing Offenses are going to do is just double team Highsmith and only concentrate on Highsmith (assuming Highsmith can put together such a season to begin with) while having ample time to shred apart this defense. Blitzes can only do so much to assist and should not be the major component of generating pressure but only as a methods to either end the downs quickly or force a turnover if possible.



Overall, it is not T.J. Watt's fault that the value of EDGE Players is rising. The issue is the continual arms race between EDGE and the Offense; one that has been going on dating back to 1986 in which Lawrence Taylor changed the NFL forever. Since that period, if one does not have "that dude" as a pass rusher, unless said team has a stacked front seven, it is going to be very difficult to generate any sort of pass rush. For better reference, see how the Baltimore Ravens have looked since the retirement of Terrell Suggs. Better yet, just look at how effective the Buffalo Bills pass rush was against the likes of Kansas City in the Playoffs; doubly so given the fact that the Bills have not had "that dude" since Bruce Smith.



Acquiring "that dude" is difficult enough as it stands as there are too many circumstances and variables to consider when attempting to find him in the first place. Clelin Ferrell of the Raiders is the prime example of how difficult it is to understand the success of finding these top tier EDGE players.. Keeping him is essential as that allows a Defensive Coordinator to build around him. For the 70s Steelers, it was Joe Greene. For the 1990s, Pittsburgh got a two for one; Kevin Greene and Greg Lloyd. In the 2000s, a successorship; Joey Porter to James Harrison. That trend has since continued in the 2010s; James Harrison now to T.J. Watt

 

He may have gotten him also. LoL. He knocked Woodson out so bad he was pointing at the sky. Look like Rudolph did a couple years ago
Even Rod said it was the hardest he ever got hit.

 

Again my friend he was asked 2 change positions. He didn't want 2. Also those 33 ints you keep on about most were not as a Cb.

 

I understand. However, production is still paramount and essential; regardless of position. That is the biggest factor here; the Rooney's would be proven wrong as Chad Scott did all but nothing after his first season. Again and, as stated, it was not up until the arrival of the man in my avatar that the Secondary woes would finally be addressed. Between 1997-2002.. oof.

 

That's why I said to franchise him in '21 and '22. I read somewhere that the projected franchise value in 2022 will be around $18 million. Even if it's $20 million, so be it. They'd even save money on the second year as well. So you'd have him thru 2023. Then, at the age of 30, you let him walk if he wants to. And during that time you can develop his successor.

I like Watt a lot, but lets not act like this isn't a business. You have to run it that way. Watt's still going to make crazy money.

You brought up Woodson so I'll mention a name. How about LaMarr Woodley. What a disaster that second contract was. That hampered the team for awhile, and that was NOTHING compared to the crazy freakin math we're looking at here. Woodley's contract was a blip on the radar compared to $30 million a year.

 

Yep.


Ironically enough, Ed Reed began his career as a Strong Safety but was forced to change to Free Safety due to the hit. His neck was never the same after the fact. That said though, said injury was a blessing in disguise for Ed as he became the best ball hawking Free Safety in NFL History.

 

He also knocked Woodson out. Being such a Woodson fan I thought you would remember that.
Hines knocked out a lot of Defensive players.
I even remember Ray Lewis stepping out of bounds going after a fumble because he seen Ward coming at the last second.

 

Now that I think about it. Hines should get into the HOF just for being the 1st Wrs 2 knock out so many Defensive players, and because of Rule changes because of Him.

 

Again though, tagging a player is a wonderful way to strain relations; doubly so if the player has acted in good faith for the organization both on and off the field. T.J. Watt is not the second coming of Le'Veon Bell.. not even close. The market is what is driving up T.J.'s asking price; not necessarily him.



Regarding LaMarr Woodley, there are multiple fallacies with comparing LaMarr to T.J. Allow me to explain.




1.) Woodley was not on a Hall of Fame Career arc the way T.J. Watt is currently. Woodley never earned All Pro consideration within his first four seasons while T.J already has two within four. Even if we remove the All Pro nods and add Pro Bowl nods instead, T.J. Watt has earned three within his first four seasons with the team compared to Woodley who only saw one in his third year; the only Pro Bowl nod at that.



2.) LaMarr Woodley's work ethic pales in comparison to T.J. Watt's; not even operating within the same Universe and never mind the same Galaxy, Solar System or Planet. T.J. Watt never stopped improving after his Rookie Season whereas Woodley stopped improving after he got paid after his third season. Furthermore, T.J Watt has something that Woodley never had, have nor will; a ridiculously powerful resource to rely on in a Three Time DPOY of a brother. Even to this day, T.J. still uses J.J. as a methods to get better in all aspects of his game; no matter how minuscule the benefits are.



Most Importantly



3.) T.J. Watt has had whatever that special "it" factor that HOF EDGE players have had dating back to LT himself. I have no idea what "it" is... but what I do know is that "it" is not difficult to see whenever it manifests should said observer have extensive knowledge of the game, like you and I. Many of these flahses by T.J. Watt were shown during his Rookie Season; doubly so in his first game where he did something not even his transcendent talent of a brother was able to accomplish; have two sacks and an interception in the same game. For reference, only Tommy Haynes of the Cowboys and Charles Graze of the Seahawks were capable of such debuts... over 20 years ago when T.J. Watt did this as a Rookie. What is more impressive is that both Tommy Haynes and Charles Glaze were Defensive Backs; Haynes being the Safety and Glaze being a Corner. Neither were EDGE players. T.J. Watt is the first to do so within that 20+ years. Ever since then? No drop off.





Overall, T.J. is already on a HOF pace; something Woodley never was. Should the team all but enrage T.J., that would effectively become the second greatest failure of the Rooney Family within the past 40 years; Dan Marino again being the first. No ifs, ands or buts about it. To beat an elite QB, you need an elite pass rush. However, to have an elite pass rush, you better have "that dude".



T.J. Watt is "that dude".

 

Keep in mind that I am merely referring to what I have personally seen in my lifetime. I was not even close to being interested in the NFL during the early 2000s as I am now.

 

Oh. Ok.