The Pittsburgh Steelers are hoping 2026 is the year everything comes together. Aaron Rodgers re-signed on a one-year, $22.5 million deal for what he confirmed will be his final NFL season, reuniting with new head coach Mike McCarthy, and the front office’s decisions make it clear that the Steelers are going all in for the Super Bowl.
But even as Pittsburgh loads up for one last ride with Rodgers, a long-term question has emerged on the defensive side. The Steelers handed Nick Herbig a four-year, $100 million extension earlier this month, locking in their future at edge rusher and raising fresh speculation about what comes next for T.J. Watt.
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Watt’s 2025 season was, by his standards, a down year. The 2021 Defensive Player of the Year missed three games with a partially collapsed lung and finished with just seven sacks in 14 appearances, matching the second-lowest total of his career.
Since he is their best defensive player, Pittsburgh’s unit collectively took a step back. According to PFSN’s Defense Impact Metric, the Steelers posted an impact score of 74.6, ranking 16th in the league.
The Athletic’s Mike DeFabo addressed Watt’s future directly in a recent mailbag. While noting that Alex Highsmith is the more likely trade candidate given his contract timeline, DeFabo acknowledged the bigger question on everyone’s mind.
“Next offseason is the right time to move one. Highsmith is more likely to be traded because he’d have just one year left on his contract, and my sense is the Steelers would like Watt to be a “one helmet” guy,” DeFabo wrote. “However, I would seriously consider moving Watt next offseason for a haul.”
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“If he has a bounce-back season, I don’t think a first-round pick would be out of the question considering what the Browns got for Myles Garrett and what the Ravens were prepared to give up for Maxx Crosby,” DeFabo added.
A great haul, though, only becomes realistic if Watt proves he can still dominate. The smarter play is to keep the band together for Rodgers’ farewell tour. Pittsburgh now has significant money committed to Watt, Herbig, and Highsmith, and that depth should be treated as a weapon for 2026 to make a run at the Super Bowl.
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Moreover, a healthy version of Watt, with potentially a double-digit sack season in 2026, would command significantly more trade value than the aging, injured version teams saw last season.
Pittsburgh has a clear one-year window to chase a title with its full roster intact and Rodgers as its quarterback. If their pursuit fails, Watt’s next chapter can begin elsewhere, on terms that benefit everyone.
