The Pittsburgh Steelers have been told to use TJ Watt in a stunning trade with the San Francisco 49ers for quarterback Brock Purdy.
Arguably the best player on the Steelers, Watt stunned their fans earlier this week by hinting that he could be exiting the team on social media.
Watt posted a pH๏τo, without a caption, to his Instagram story of him giving the peace sign, holding two fingers in the air. The sign is slang for goodbye, leaving doubt as to his Steel City future, amid uncertainty over the team’s future at quarterback.
Both Justin Fields and Russell Wilson have been allowed to leave this offseason – both heading for New York – while the team are locked in drawn out talks with Aaron Rodgers.
Purdy’s own future in San Francisco is unclear, too. Coming off a year plagued with injuries that sunk the Niners to a poor 6-11 record, Purdy is hoping for a big 2025 that could lead into a mᴀssive payday for him.
But with a rumored price tag of $50million-a-year floating around his name, some NFL executives and coaches told Sports Illustrated that it might be better for San Francisco to hold off on inking that contract.
The Pittsburgh Steelers have been told to use TJ Watt in a stunning trade for Brock Purdy
The 25-year-old quarterback’s future in San Francisco is unclear amid contract uncertainty
Now the Steelers have been urged to use the situation to their advantage by trading the unhappy Watt for Purdy, which would solve the franchise’s quarterback issue.
Super Bowl champion Chris Canty said during an appearance on ESPN: ‘Using T.J. Watt as a way to be able to pry Brock Purdy from San Francisco.
‘The 49ers gutted at defense, being able to add some help for Fred Warner and Nick Bosa. TJ Watt in that group. (Robert) Saleh now back there as the defensive coordinator.
‘(The 49ers) got the 11th overall pick, so they can presumably draft a quarterback if they don’t have to give up that pick in the trade. I don’t know how the 49ers say no to that.’
Watt has one year remaining on his current contract, which will earn him more than $30million this season.
The Steelers will open the check book to retain one of the best defensive players in the NFL, while other teams will be circling to try and attain his services should a deal not get done by the end of the season.
Rodgers, 41, is still looking for his next team after several with a need for a starting quarterback seemingly pᴀssed on him for other players.
Only Mason Rudolph and Skylar Thompson are on the Steelers roster at quarterback, with neither appearing to be the one Mike Tomlin will go with to start in Week 1.
Mike Tomlin does not have a starting quarterback with Justin Fields and Russell Wilson gone
The Steelers are still in a standoff with Aaron Rodgers as he weighs up his NFL future
At age 25, Purdy is much younger than the echelon of quarterbacks all making $50m plus per year like Dak Prescott, Jordan Love, Trevor Lawrence, Justin Herbert and Tua Tagovailoa to name a few.
And yet, Purdy’s already much more accomplished than all those quarterbacks – having been to two NFC Championship games and a Super Bowl.
But some executives and coaches believe that Purdy is too-reliant on his teammates to reach that success and make him look good in the process.
‘Beyond the five or six [quarterbacks] that don’t need people around them, he’s in that group of guys that do need good players around him but can play at a high level,’ an NFC offensive ᴀssistant coach told SI.
