Coming into the offseason, pretty much everyone knew that T.J. Watt’s eventual contract extension would be a topic of discussion. After he posted a picture on Instagram last week of him giving a peace sign, those conversations have ramped up.

With plenty more offseason still to go, Steelers insider Ray Fittipaldo isn’t expecting a “resolution” to the situation anytime soon.

“Since [Myles] Garrett signed March 9th, hasn’t been a lot going on with T.J. Watt and the Steelers, Micah Parsons and the Cowboys,” Fittipaldo said Monday on The North Shore Drive podcast. “It’s big problems that those teams just had dumped into their laps.. This is just really complicated now.”

At first, the extension which Maxx Crosby signed early in the offseason seemed to be a sign that Watt’s price tag would be going up. Then, Garrett completely shattered the market, signing a massive contract worth an average of $40 million a year. That contract has thrown a wrench in the market, and not just with Watt and the Steelers. Fittipaldo mentions another edge rusher, Micah Parsons, who is now set to earn even more from the Dallas Cowboys.

The Steelers are doing themselves no favors regarding Watt, who is going into the final year of his contract. They’re having to pay for that, quite literally. They’ve signed Watt to a contract which made him the highest-paid defender in the league before. On the surface, it surely seems like something the franchise has interest in doing.

This situation isn’t quite the same. Watt is now on the other side of 30 and is coming off a year which saw some slight drop in production. Giving him a contract like the one Garrett received would keep him in Pittsburgh until at least his mid-30s, at a high price tag. Any contract like that will be risky.

That said, we’ve seen how well the Steelers have done without Watt. If they want to win it’s been proven he’s a player they need to keep around, and they will. Yet, their wait in giving him an extension is going to force them to pay him more than they had probably hoped.

There’s also the Aaron Rodgers situation, which could be holding up Watt’s contract. Steelers insider Mark Kaboly mentioned on Monday that Rodgers could be the hang-up there. If that’s the case, that complicates things even more. There’s no telling when Rodgers will sign — or if he will. If the waiting game extends into the summer, the Steelers will have to juggle Watt’s contract and their need for a QB simultaneously.

There isn’t any reason to believe Watt would spend the 2026 season with any other team. As we’ve seen, though, waiting around isn’t helping Pittsburgh much.