The Steelers have stepped outside their normal mode of business in recent years, trading up in the 2019 draft to acquire linebacker Devin Bush, trading a future first-round draft pick the following year to acquire safety Minkah Fitzpatrick and signing several players this season to one-year deals with voidable years on the end of the contract.
One thing that won't change is the organizational rule that once the regular season begins, it won't negotiate new contracts for players.
Because of that, the clock is ticking on the team reaching a contract extension with linebacker T.J. Watt, who has one year remaining on his rookie deal.
But team president Art Rooney II said Tuesday he thinks a deal will get done before the Steelers play their regular-season opener Sept. 12 at Buffalo.
"Yeah, we’d like to get T.J.’s deal done before the start of the season. That’s the goal," Rooney said. "I don’t like to get into those details in terms of the discussions, but we’re going to try to get it done by the start of the season."
If it doesn't happen by then, the Steelers won't resume contract negotiations with Watt, the 2020 NFL sack leader, until their season ends. Watt is scheduled to earn $10.089 million in 2021 after the Steelers exercised his fifth-year option, and the Steelers could use the franchise tag on their 2017 first-round draft pick if a new deal isn't reached before the start of free agency in 2022, so it's unlikely Watt would not be playing for the Steelers next season.
But Rooney doesn't want things to come to that.
"I try not to get optimistic or pessimistic. I’ve seen these things go so many different ways over the years," he said. "We’re going to try to do our best. Both sides want to get something done, so that’s always a good thing."
Watt has not practiced fully with the team in this training camp, though sources continue to say it's not because of any kind of holdout. The Steelers are simply being cautious with a number of their starting players in this camp as they prepare to play their first preseason game Thursday in Canton, Ohio, against the Cowboys in the Hall of Fame game.
The NFL cut its preseason to three games this season when it went to a 17-game regular season, but the Steelers and Cowboys still have four games because of their participation in the Hall of Fame game.
For a team such as the Steelers, who are breaking in a number of new starters in 2021 after the salary cap went down this season because of the lack of fans in the stands during a pandemic season in 2020, that's not necessarily a bad thing.
"I like the group we have. There’s a lot of good players, talented players," Rooney said. "We have some young people that we’re hoping are going to step up and take a big step forward this year. There are some changes on the offensive line. So there are some things we’re keeping our eye on. It’s good we have four preseason games this year. It will help us get through some of that.
"I would say I like the direction we’re going in. We’ve got some work to do. We’ve got a whole preseason ahead of us here to really do that kind of work and make sure we’re ready for the season. These next few weeks are going to be important."
The Steelers had to release starters Steven Nelson at cornerback and David DeCastro at guard, at least in part to save some salary cap space. But they currently have approximately $13 million in remaining cap space, some of which could be taken up by a potential deal with Watt or another pending free agent.
Part of the reason for that was because Ben Roethlisberger took a $5 million pay cut and then added some voidable years onto his current contract to knock his salary cap number down from $41.25 million to its current $25.9 million level.
At 39, there is always the chance this is Roethlisberger's final season, something the Steelers and Roethlisberger have openly spoke about.
"We’re aware that this could be Ben’s last year, and we hope it’s a great one," Rooney said. "That’s as far as we can go with it right now. If this is his last year, then next year, obviously we’ll be making decisions on quarterback, and we’ll address it when that time comes up."
But there are no guarantees that will be the case. The Steelers are keeping the door open if Roethlisberger has a great season and wants to return.
"Sure. It’s not written in stone that this is his last year," Rooney said.
In other items:
• Rooney said once the pandemic restrictions are lifted, the Steelers plan on a return to Saint Vincent College in Latrobe for training camp. "I think once the pandemic is over, then we’re back to our normal planning processes, yes," Rooney said, noting that the decision to have training camp at Heinz Field this season was not what the team wanted. The NFL declined to approve the Steelers' plan to return to Saint Vincent this season.
• When asked what percentage of his team is now vaccinated, Rooney said the number of unvaccinated players is minimal.
"We are at a very high percentage," he said. "We’re less than a handful from being at 100 percent. Let’s put it that way. We’re shooting for 100 percent."
