This offseason, the Steelers can’t catch a break. First, they had to bid adieu to two of their standout QBs: Russell Wilson and Justin Fields. Amid their quarterback woes, their star linebacker TJ Watt has stirred the pot.

Watt posted a simple IG story and left the world talking about his trade and NFL retirement. But after the 30-year-old LB posted that pic with a ‘Winston Churchill-like’ peace sign, an important question lingers: ‘If TJ might be thinking about leaving Pittsburgh, why is he doing so?’

And that made Tom Pelissero dig deep into that question. Firstly, there was a firm belief that TJ did not get a contract extension. That’s why he might be thinking about retirement or asking for a trade. But an NFL Network reporter Pelissero has a different analysis. He thinks a hazy quarterback situation in Pittsburgh could be the reason.

The reporter was on the Rich Eisen Show and started, “This is not with any firm knowledge background. But one, he’s in a contract here, plainly due for an upgrade, doesn’t have it yet. Two, I would fairly tell you T.J. Watt is probably getting a little sick of waiting on the quarterback question as well. It’s the Pittsburgh Steelers.” Translation? He asked a simple question to those quarterbacks who couldn’t decide which team they wanted to go to: “Do you want to play here or do you not?” Cam Heyward asked the same question nearly a month ago. 

Reporters asked Heyward about Aaron Rodgers not making the final decision. And he firmly said, “Either you want to be a Pittsburgh Steeler, or you don’t. That’s simple. That’s the pitch. If you want me to recruit, that’s the recruiting pitch. Pittsburgh Steelers. If you want to be part of it, so be it. If you don’t, no skin off my back.” And if we rewind to what Tom Pelissero also said, one thing is clear: The level of patience Mike Tomlin’s team has for the 41-year-old QB is insane. But why is TJ Watt so mad about the quarterback decision if he is thinking about leaving? 

Tom answered this question, too. “There are other people, certainly in the organization, in the locker room, who are just going like, ‘What are we doing? We’re back for off-season workouts in 10 days. We’re coming up on the draft. What’s the plan?” That’s the paramount question star players also have. The players can’t go fully into practice and other workouts if the most important position in the game, QB, is not filled. And we haven’t yet figured out how much time the new QB will take to be fully involved in the system. 

While exploring TJ Watt’s cryptic post, let’s discuss the most obvious reason. The one that the whole Pittsburgh and NFL world was talking about. TJ’s contract extension. 

Lingering contract extension of TJ Watt

If we look closer at TJ’s contract, we see that he is in the last year of his contract, which was signed in 2021. He signed a $112,011,000 worth four-year contract with the Pittsburgh team, which is gonna end in 2026. And that’s why his extension talks are being discussed. Until his IG story, the contract extension was crawling, but according to sources, the Steelers are also discussing his extension for more years. But do you know what the main problem with his extension?

According to Yahoo Sports, the main problem here is age. Watt will turn 31 this year. If we compare that with the Browns rusher, who signed the second-highest non-QB deal in March, Myles Garrett is 30 years old. And let’s not forget that age matters in the big league. It can make or break your career. 

But now, TJ or fans don’t have to worry about the defender’s contract extension. Per the Steelers beat writer Mark Kaboly, the franchise is in the process of giving TJ Watt a big contract, earlier than his cryptic post. Let’s see if the pass rusher, who has made 11.5 sacks and 50 solo tackles in the last season, gets a big contract or not.