The Pittsburgh Steelers already did it once this offseason.
When Pittsburgh acquired DK Metcalf in a trade, they immediately signed him to a big contract extension while the face of the franchise T.J. Watt watched and wondered if he would get his desired new contract.
And now on Monday, the Steelers got Jalen Ramsey in a trade from the Dolphins. According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, Pittsburgh takes on "the bulk" of Ramsey's $26.6 million salary.
Watt seems to want to know what gives.
Here's what Schefter wrote on X on Monday afternoon:
"In recent weeks, multiple teams have been discussing whether they can trade for Steelers’ standout T.J. Watt, who skipped the team’s most recent minicamp. Pittsburgh hasn’t shown any willingness to deal Watt so far, but he’s unhappy with his contractual situation and sources believe outside team interest is likely to increase given today’s trade."
MORE: Steelers stun NFL by trading for Jalen Ramsey to save Dolphins, rob Rams
Sure, Watt isn't the player he once was.
But he watched his contemporary Myles Garrett get four years and $160 million from Cleveland, and now he's watched two of Pittsburgh's newest players get big money.
Watt simply can't be thrilled.
He'll turn 31 in October, so this is Watt's last chance at a big payday. If he feels Pittsburgh won't give that to him, maybe he seeks another team that will.
This will be Watt's last year under his current contract, but there's almost no way the Steelers would let him play it out and then just leave for nothing as a free agent.
This is a situation that could escalate quickly if Watt doesn't feel he's being heard by Pittsburgh's front office.
If it falls apart between Watt and the Steelers, that'd be a shame.
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