Alex Highsmith Confident Steelers Get Deal Done with T.J. Watt
Steelers linebacker Alex Highsmith is confident Pittsburgh will get a deal done with fellow linebacker T.J. Watt this offseason.
Pittsburgh Steelers All-Pro outside linebacker T.J. Watt created quite a stir this offseason with a cryptic post of himself putting up the peace out sign on his Instagram Story. It has since been heavily debated if it means Watt is looking to get out of Pittsburgh entering the final year of his contract.
Fellow Steelers linebacker Alex Highsmith believes it does not.
“I’m confident he’s not going anywhere,” Highsmith said on NFL Network’s “The Insiders.” “I know that he loves being here. He loves being in Pittsburgh and the city of Pittsburgh loves him. So I know that they’re going to do whatever they can to get a deal done, hopefully sooner than later because everyone knows he’s a generational talent, generational player. So we all know he wants to be in this building.”
There has been some speculation that the Steelers could move on from Watt, who is coming off a bit of a down year at 30.
In 2024, he registered the third least sacks in a season (11.5) in his career. The other two seasons were his rookie year (seven sacks) and 2022 (5.5 sacks) when he played in just 10 games due to a knee injury.
However, Watt shut down those rumors following the 2024 season.
“I want to be a Pittsburgh Steeler,” Watt said. “You guys know that. I don’t want to leave this place. I want to be part of the solution. I’ve put so much into it here.”
Watt is severely underpaid based on the current market as he is set to make just $21 million in 2025.
Cleveland Browns star edge rusher Myles Garrett recently reset the market, agreeing to a record-setting contract extension that averages $40 million per year. That likely caught Watt’s attention.
It’s unclear if Watt is looking to surpass Garrett’s new deal or if he’s just looking for a fair raise, but Highsmith seems to think the two sides will get something done at some point this offseason.