Steelers 2-a-days: T.J. Watt on Hall of Fame trajectory, Armon Watts some veteran depth for D-line
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Editor’s note: From the end of minicamp through the day the team reports to training camp at Saint Vincent College, the Trib will be running through the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 90-man roster, assessing each player’s outlook for the 2023 season. The breakdown will go through the roster in mostly-alphabetical order, (at least) two per day, between June 16 and July 26. Contract data courtesy spotrac.com.
OLB T.J. WATT
Experience: 7th season
Contract status: $29.37 million cap hit in 2023, signed through 2025
2023 outlook: Check out Watt’s year-by-year accolades for his first five seasons, which has got to be the most symmetrical, greatest gradual career-ascension curve in NFL history:
• 2017, NFL all-rookie
• 2018, Pro Bowler
• 2019, All Pro
• 2020, defensive player of the year runner-up
• 2021, defensive player of the year
The pattern, though, ended last season — and not just because there was literally nowhere higher to go (aside from NFL MVP). Watt’s down 2022 season in regards to productivity was in large part because of injury, but his 5 ½ sacks in 10 games last season equate to 9 ½ over a full season — far below the 22½ he produced in only 15 games in 2021. His forced fumbles, tackles for loss and QB hits were also down significantly — but to be fair, his two interceptions were highlight-worthy splash plays.
It would be extremely unfair to Watt to fail to cite as a reason the torn pectoral muscle he suffered late in the season opener in which he had an interception and a sack in an upset at the Cincinnati Bengals. By now, Steelers fans remember the rest: Watt missed seven games, the Steelers went 1-6 in that time, sidekick Alex Highsmith had only 3½ of his 14½ sacks while Watt was out. And when Watt returned, the Steelers won seven of their final nine. It was one of those instances where a player’s absence made his case as an MVP.
Will Watt — still only 28 years old — regain top form? Will he make it through a season healthy? Even in his historic (tied the NFL single-season sack record) 2021 season, Watt missed two full games and parts of three others because of three separate injuries. Spanning 51 weeks from Sept. 2021-Sept. 2022, Watt suffered an injury four different times over 16 games played.
In light of Watt having missed just one game because of injury over his first four NFL seasons, he hasn’t yet earned a label of being “injury-prone.” But another season in which he is forced out of or misses games could begin to raise alarms that Watt’s body might never again allow him to achieve his Hall of Fame-worthy peak form.
It was back to business for the Steelers' T.J. Watt this week when he arrived on the South Side for voluntary OTA workouts. https://t.co/ER8xMl4wem
— Tribune-Review Sports (@TribSports) May 25, 2023
DT ARMON WATTS
Experience: 5th season
Contract status: $1.092 million cap hit on a one-year deal in 2023
2023 outlook: Watts is a five-year NFL veteran who started a career-high 12 games for the Chicago Bears last season. But the 27-year-old was signed to a modest contract to provide reliable veteran insurance as a backup on the defensive line.
The 6-foot-5, 307-pound Watts earned a role in the Minnesota Vikings’ rotation midway through a 2019 rookie season in which he was a sixth-round pick. He gradually worked his way up Minnesota’s depth chart over the next two seasons and was listed as a first-teamer during last year’s preseason before surprisingly being cut at the end of camp. The rival Bears picked him up and he appeared in all 17 games for them. But the Bears apparently were not enamored enough with Watts to re-sign him.
The Steelers no longer have Tyson Alualu and Chris Wormley as d-line depth, so Watts likely takes one of their roles’ as a veteran backup to Cameron Heyward, Larry Ogunjobi and whoever serves as the No. 1 nose tackle. The signings of Watts and Breiden Fehoko make the position room much more competitive, too. Amongst the group of those two, Heyward, Ogunjobi, Montravius Adams, DeMarvin Leal, rookie Keeanu Benton and Isaiahh Loudermilk (among others), at least one can’t be on the season-opening active roster.
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