T.J. Watt is not in attendance at Steelers' mandatory minicamp at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex, and it isn't clear if/when he might attend any team event.

Watt is entering the final year of his contract. He and the team have been in negotiations for weeks, but there has been no real progress toward a new deal. He is apparently willing to pay the fines that come with missing mandatory minicamp as leverage in those negotiations.

"Certainly we'd like him to be here, but certainly not surprised by where we are,” Mike Tomlin said following practice this afternoon. “We've expressed a desire to get the business done. He has, as well. We'll continue to work. We've been here before."

"We expect him back at some point," Teryl Austin said following the team's walkthrough this morning. "He'll get caught up as fast. He'll be in great shape like he always is. No worries. It's actually a great opportunity for our young guys, to get more reps and seeing what they can do in good-on-good competition."

Players who skip minicamp face fines of $17,462 on Day 1, $34,925 for missing Day 2 and $52,381 for missing the final day. That's a total of $104,768 for players who miss all of minicamp.

The last time the team went through this situation with Watt, he was a hold-in during all of training camp and the preseason. He signed his extension a few days before the regular season.

Watt turns 31 in October, and age is always accounted for in contract negotiations. With the Browns' Myles Garrett receiving a new contract worth $40 million per season, Watt could be expecting similar compensation if that's the going rate for the best edge rushers in the game.

"It is a business at the end of the day, and everybody knows that," Nick Herbig said. "It's a very crazy business and you never know what's going to happen. Just hoping for the best. I know this whole team would love to have 90 here. He's the heartbeat and he's a Pittsburgh Steeler through and through."