Former Badger TJ Watt is in the midst of negotiations with the Pittsburgh Steelers, and it's not lacking any drama. The latest is that TJ Watt posted on Instagram a cryptic picture of himself giving the peace sign in his Steelers uniform. There is no comment or caption, and it's caused Steeler fans to really question if there are some problems in the negotiations.
NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport has a theory about what it's about. On NFL Network he talked about why Watt would post this and what it could mean for his future.
Ian Rapoport says TJ Watt knows what he's doing with the cryptic post
On NFL Network, Rapoport went into depth about what's happening with Watt and why he would post what he posted. He said, "Generally when a player makes a social media post that forces us to talk about it on TV like we’re doing right now, it is because contract negotiations are not going as well as anybody had hoped.”
You can watch the clip here:
TJ Watt had a down year last season and that may be why things have stalled
TJ Watt is one of the best linebackers in the NFL and one of the best players to ever come out of the University of Wisconsin. However, there are concerns in the fanbase that he is aging and that maybe his down year in 2024 is a sign of his aging. He had 19 sacks in 2023 and 11.5 sacks in 2024. Is this a sign that he's getting older, and maybe his stats will continue to fall?
It's hard to know based on his history. In 2021, he had 22.5 sacks, and the next year, he had 5.5 in a shortened year due to injury. He also had 15 sacks the year before his huge breakout year in 2021. This makes it tough to predict, however, and this is the kicker. 11.5 sacks is still good for 8th best in the league.
TJ Watt is still worth a huge contract, and his value is as high as ever. The former Badger star deserves big things, whether with the Steelers or somewhere else, because Pittsburgh is unwilling to pay for a big extension. Time will tell, but Rapoport isn't convinced the contract negotiations are going well at all.