The Green Bay Packers are looking to bolster their roster after making the playoffs as a Wild Card team as they prepare for the 2025 season. One position of need that the team could use an improvement on is an edge rusher, especially in a division as difficult as the NFC North.
One former Packers quarterback has an idea of an addition that the team can make via trade and it would be a massive addition of a former Defensive Player of the Year in Pittsburgh Steelers star T.J. Watt. Let’s take a closer look at what was posted and what the likelihood of this happening could be.
Former Packers QB Wants Team to Trade for T.J. Watt
Former Packers quarterback Kurt Benkert took to social media following the Dallas Cowboys’ trade for George Pickens. He viewed it as a way for the Packers to add Watt if the Steelers are looking to shed salary and rebuild, according to a social media post he made on May 8.
“If the Steelers are rebuilding and dishing guys out I’d sure love to see a Wisconsin great back in Wisconsin,” Benkurt said.
If the Steelers are rebuilding and dishing guys out I’d sure love to see a Wisconsin great back in Wisconsin 🧀🥹👉🏼👈🏼 pic.twitter.com/5KhsZ05a7K
— Kurt Benkert (@KurtBenkert) May 8, 2025
Watt is entering the final year of a four-year, $112 million contract and has a cap hit of $30.4 million in 2025 as well as a dead cap of $9.36 million, so the financial aspect could be something that is not an issue. Green Bay would not need to shed payroll either as they currently have $31.1 million of cap space, according to Over the Cap.
The Packers run a base 4-2 defense, meaning they use four defensive linemen (two defensive tackles and two defensive ends), two linebackers, and five defensive backs (three cornerbacks, two safeties). As a result, they would have Rashan Gary on one edge and replace Lukas Van Ness on the other if this move were to happen.
This would also be an interesting move as Watt would be returning to his home state as the 30-year-old was born in Pewaukee, WI, and played at the University of Wisconsin. There has also been no decline in his numbers as he finished last season with a second-team All-Pro as well as finishing fourth in the 2024 Defensive Player of the Year Award with 11.5 sacks, a league-high six forced fumbles, four pass deflections, and 27 quarterback hits.
Green Bay finished 10th last season with a 79.5 Defensive+ grade. When including the postseason, they were eighth with a 79.9 grade. This move would create rumbles in the league for both sides, but after the Pickens trade, this is certainly more likely than it was a few weeks ago.