Pittsburgh Steelers star pass-rusher T.J. Watt might need to ship quarterback and new teammate Aaron Rodgers a present basket later this summer time.
Throughout a Tuesday look on “The Pat McAfee Present,” Rodgers revealed that he’s “fairly positive” he’ll retire from taking part in after he spends the 2025 season with the Steelers. Whereas talking with McAfee about Pittsburgh’s roster, Rodgers additionally appeared to ship a message to the Steelers concerning Watt’s much-publicized want for a contract extension.
“As soon as we get our Corridor of Fame exterior rush-backer signed, you are speaking about one other man who’s a frontrunner, not simply by his instance, however by his phrases,” Rodgers mentioned whereas referencing Watt, as shared by Josh Carney of Steelers Depot.
Watt is within the last year
of the contract extension he signed in 2021, and presumably is on the lookout for a major pay elevate after he stayed away from the membership all through its three-day necessary minicamp that ran from June 10-12. Particularly, multiple Steelers reporters have advised Watt is seeking to higher the four-year, $160M extension that included $123.5M assured that Myles Garrett of the Cleveland Browns received shortly after he went public with a commerce request in February.
There is no indication that Watt will use such a tactic to get what he needs from the Steelers this summer time. That mentioned, Watt’s subsequent deal might develop into costlier for Pittsburgh than what his asking worth was as of the morning of June 24 if Micah Parsons of the Dallas Cowboys or Trey Hendrickson of the Cincinnati Bengals resets the market earlier than Watt places pen to paper on an settlement.
“I will give the Steelers all the pieces that I bought and empty the tank and be tremendous comfy and glad with no matter occurs,” Rodgers advised the “McAfee” crew, per Nick Shook of the NFL’s web site. “Clearly, we dream about taking part in on the highest degree within the largest video games.”
The Steelers undeniably would have a greater likelihood of profitable the season’s “largest video games” with a cheerful Watt as a part of their protection by a minimum of January 2026. It actually feels like Rodgers expects the Steelers to get one thing carried out with Watt earlier than veteran gamers are due to report back to coaching camp on July 23.
