NFL Analyst Slams Steelers for T.J. Watt Deal

The FOX Sports analyst didn't hold back about the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Dec 15, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt (90) on the sidelines against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images | Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Steelers extended their franchise cornerstone in edge rusher T.J. Watt to a three-year deal, setting the tone for defensive players across the league.

With an average annual value of $41 million each season, Watt is being paid handsomely for being one of the most dominant defensive players in league history. Watt becomes the highest paid non-quarterback in the history of the National Football League, making $1 million more a season than division rival Myles Garrett.

Early on in the media reaction, there has already been significant praise and criticism from across NFL media. One detractor of the deal who believes that it is a vast overreaction and the wrong decision to make by the Steelers front office is FOX Sports Nick Wright. Wright took to First Things First in order to express strong opinions on the matter, highlighting the rest of the team around Watt and how his contract effects that.

“The Steelers are gonna continue to have eight, nine wins,” Wright said. “Their path out was recognizing, and they weren’t gonna do this once Aaron Rodgers signed, but to trade T.J. Watt, get great capital for it, and eventually get a quarterback. Instead, they do this. I think it’s a mistake. I also think T.J. Watt, I don’t know where he is as far as career arc.”

Wright's criticism seems marked less at Watt himself but the roster construction by the Steelers' front office in recent years. With no playoff wins since the 2016 season, the Steelers should have acted proactively in some point in recent years to make a change from the relative mediocrity that they have lived in for nearly a decade.

A trade that would have sent Watt away could have reset the Steelers completely, but that would hinge on the draft capital involved in a possible deal working out, which has not necessarily been the case with Steelers draft picks in recent years. It could have, however, involved the next future of the franchise.

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