J.J. Watt Nearly Signed With Steelers
PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Steelers almost did end up with all three Watt brothers. With T.J. and Derek already on the roster, J.J. considered the move to black and gold - but decided not to take away from his brother's massive deal.
During an appearance on The Green Light Podcast, J.J. Watt said he did consider the Steelers during free agency in 2021, but chose not to. Why? Because the team was in the middle of working out a record-breaking contract extension with his little brother.
"They were [on the list]. It certainly would have been awesome to play with my brothers, but T.J. was also going through the contract situation there, so the last thing I wanted to do was come in and take any money away from his contract," Watt said.
The dream of all three Watt brothers playing for Pittsburgh still remains today. Even deep into retirement, there are constant questions about whether or not Watt will return to the NFL, and if he does, if the Steelers would be his team of choice.
Instead of the Steelers, Watt signed with the Arizona Cardinals but unfortunately dealt with tears to his labrum, bicep, and rotator cuff, all in one game, and missed 10 games during the season. He returned for the playoffs but finished the season with just one sack.
The year off, his final in the league, he recorded 12.5 sacks and 18 tackles for loss. That same year, his brother T.J., missed seven games due to a torn pectoral.
The Steelers probably could've used J.J. at the time.
The dream never came to reality, though, and now Steelers fans will never know what it's like to have two Watt brothers lined up on the defensive line. They almost did, though.
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