Saying that he remains optimistic a deal will be completed soon with star outside linebacker T.J. Watt, Mike Tomlin said Tuesday that he expected Watt to return to full practice on Wednesday and play in Sunday's regular season opener against the Bills.
How much and how effective Watt can be after having skipped all the team portions of the Steelers' training camp practices and not playing in any of the team's four preseason games remains to be seen. But Tomlin is optimistic about that, as well.
"He's missed some time due to obvious reasons, but like I've also mentioned, over the course of this team development process, I focus very little on those that aren't working, for whatever reason that they're not working," Tomlin said. "I'm proceeding with the assumption that he's working tomorrow and that he gets to add his talents to that collection, and the development of that collection, and hopefully it culminates in quality play not only this weekend from that group, but obviously over the course of the 2021 season."
Tomlin compared Watt's situation to that of former Pitt star Aaron Donald, who ended a holdout with the Rams in 2018 just prior to the start of the regular season. After skipping the Rams entire offseason program, training camp and preseason, Donald signed a six-year, $135-million contract with the Rams 10 days before the start of that season.
Donald, who finished first to Watt's second in last year's NFL Defensive Player of the Year voting, played 62 defensive snaps and four on special teams in a 33-13 win over the Raiders, though he had just one tackle in the game. Donald finished that season playing 90.4 percent of the Rams' defensive snaps, setting a career-high by leading the NFL with 20.5 sacks.
"We'll play it by ear. One thing I'm not going to do is assume that he's regular or normal. I think guys in the position he's in, they're in those positions because of their unique talents, skill sets and will," Tomlin said. "I've just been in this game so long at this level, I'm used to seeing uniquely talented people rise up in the face of adversity, or circumstance, and exceed it.
"I've been optimistic about this process running its course. Because of that optimism, I'm anticipating quality play from him this weekend and beyond."
The Steelers and Watt remain close on a deal that would make him one of, if not the, highest-paid defensive player in the NFL. Overall guaranteed money remains the main sticking point, with the Steelers wishing to have the signing bonus comprise the majority of the guarantees and Watt's representation wanting larger portions of salary guaranteed.
Watt will command a contract in excess of $100 million in total compensation. He is expected to approach and perhaps exceed the $27 million per year contract given by the Chargers to Joey Bosa. Currently, the Bears' Khalil Mack is the highest-paid outside linebacker in the league at $23.5 million per season.
One way around the issue for the Steelers and Watt would be to include some voidable years on the deal, something the Steelers had not done before this year, when they built voidable years into contracts given to Ben Roethlisberger, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Melvin Ingram, Trai Turner and others.
Watt, 26, is currently slated to earn $10.089 million in 2021, the final year of his rookie contract.
A three-time Pro Bowl and two-time first-team All-Pro player, Watt has recorded 49.5 sacks in 62 career games.
Because of the new CBA signed by the NFLPA last year, players can no longer hold out of training camp or mandatory practices without incurring mandatory fines. Watt has been at every practice the Steelers held since minicamp and also traveled to the team's away preseason games.