Cam Heyward, Minkah Fitzpatrick weigh in on T.J. Watt contract talks with Steelers

Another day, another Pittsburgh Steelers captain stumping for All-Pro outside linebacker T.J. Watt to get his long-awaited, long-term contract finalized.

On Thursday, it was defensive tackle Cam Heyward’s turn to throw his support behind Watt in his negotiations on a contract that likely will make the 26-year-old pass rusher the NFL’s highest-paid defensive player.

As he walked away from the podium after spending several moments during his nine-minute interview talking about Watt’s contract situation, Heyward leaned into the microphone and said, “Pay T.J. Please.”

Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger lobbied on Wednesday for the Steelers to pay Watt “whatever the heck he wants.”

A new contract could exceed the $27 million annually that Los Angeles Chargers pass rusher Joey Bosa is making.

“We all feel like T.J. should be paid,” Heyward said. “He’s put in the time and the work. He’s a productive player. Look at his (lack of) injury history. He’s out there, he doesn’t miss much. He’s a game changer.”

Heyward was in a similar situation in 2020. He was entering the final year of his contract and hoping to get a deal completed before the season began. Heyward signed a four-year, $65.6 million extension that included $20.25 million guaranteed eight days before the opener at the New York Giants.

The Steelers are just three days away from opening this season at Buffalo.

“I let my agent handle most of it, but at the same time, I was like, ‘What is it going to take?’” Heyward said. “I’m sure T.J. is going through it now. We want to focus on the Buffalo Bills. A guy like T.J., I know he wants it behind him, and we need to get it done.”

All-Pro free safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, who will enter the final year of his contract next offseason, admitted Thursday that he is “paying attention” to the Watt negotiations.

“It’s where I could be next year or in the future, so I have been talking with him and getting a feel for how the organization and everybody else is going about it,” Fitzpatrick said.

The Steelers are one of the few NFL teams that don’t guarantee contracts beyond the signing bonus and first year of the deal. However, they typically restructure contracts when they need to create salary cap space, essentially guaranteeing most of that year’s salary in the form of a signing bonus.

“Everybody has a way they do business, and you have to respect that,” Fitzpatrick said.

With the team’s blessing, Watt didn’t begin practicing with his teammates until Wednesday, and he went through a second full workout Thursday.

Defensive coordinator Keith Butler said the Steelers need to be mindful of Watt’s snap count in the opener Sunday. That is complicated by second-year outside linebacker Alex Highsmith’s limited activity in practice this week.

“I think we’ve got to be careful about how many plays he plays,” Butler said about Watt. “He’s a veteran. He knows how he feels. He knows how he’s going to feel when he starts playing. We just have to be smart enough to know how much is too much and how much is too little. We will try to pick a spot in that situation and keep him as healthy as we can.”