Steelers Have To Worry About Large Contract As "A Decline Is Well Underway"

The Pittsburgh Steelers have a very interesting dilemma going into the 2026 season. They have to find a way to get edge rusher Nick Herbig more snaps after handing him a $100 million contract despite the fact that he is still the third edge rusher on the depth chart. It doesn't help that TJ Watt and Alex Highsmith are both also paid well, but it's hard to put all three of them on the field at the same time, since the team would have to take someone else off from another position. Despite this, it doesn't appear that any these three men will be traded soon. 

For one of these players, there is an entirely different dilemma. Brad Gagnon explained the big problem in his latest article on Bleacher Report.

"[TJ Watt's] sack numbers have plummeted from 19 in 2023 to 11.5 in 2024 to seven in 2025," Gagnon said. "This was his first relatively full non-All-Pro season since 2018, indicating that a decline is well underway. Even if the Steelers move on after the 2027 campaign, Watt will have cost the team $94 million in salary and dead-cap charges for just two seasons of work."

There is no doubt that 2025 was very disappointing for Watt, as he was regularly shut down by double-teams and game plans being made specifically to limit his work. It didn't help that he suffered a collapsed lung near the end of the season, which made him miss three key games in December. There was not much that went right for the former AP Defensive Player of the Year. 

What made it worse for the Steelers was the fact that he just signed a massive extension prior to that season. Watt had arguably the worst campaign of his career, and the $123 million contract had not even kicked in yet. Unlike most deals that Pittsburgh does, it can't get out of this one easily due to all the guarantees put in it to make sure he ends his career as a one-helmet guy.

The Steelers could trade Watt prior to the 2027 season, but that would be at a very decreased value due to his age and contract. With every passing year, and as he continues to decline, he loses more and more trade value. Even if he has a bounce-back season of sorts, it would be very difficult for Pittsburgh to ship him away in exchange for a high-quality draft pick or player in return.

Steelers Have High Hopes With New Coaching Staff

New Defensive Coordinator Patrick Graham has made a name for himself for not being attached to just one scheme and being able to do whatever it takes to allow his players to play better. That is something that this unit has not had in the past, so this level of flexibility from the coaching staff is very welcomed. For Watt in particular, this could be where he finds his second wind. 

Watt recently admitted that he is willing to switch sides on the line as well and not only play left outside linebacker. The idea is that moving him around should free up more one-on-one matchups and make opposing quarterbacks work more, as opposed to just allowing the other team to put a lot of effort on keeping his side taken care of each week.

Doing that would cause a lot more communication from the quarterback, which means more time for the defense to get ready and more chances for the opposing offense to have communication errors. The Steelers want to make the other team think, because once they get in their own head, the game is already over. If that doesn't happen, however, Watt's contract will continue to look like a mistake.

What do you think about Watt's contract being an issue with his recent decline? Let us know on X at @Steelers_ChrisB.

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