T.J. Watt Announces Preference For NFL Future After Playoff Loss
01/13/2025 05:21 PM
T.J. Watt addressed his future following another Pittsburgh Steelers first-round playoff exit.
Pittsburgh's postseason struggles continued with Saturday's 28-14 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. The Steelers have made the playoffs five times during Watt's eight-year career, but the star linebacker has yet to participate in a victory.
Watt is under contract for one more season before he can enter free agency. However, the 30-year-old insisted that he has no desire to play anywhere else.
"I want to be a Pittsburgh Steeler," Watt said Monday, per Steelers Now's Aaron Becker. "You guys know that. I don't want to leave this place. I want to be part of the solution."
Having spent his entire career playing for Mike Tomlin's Steelers, Watt wants to fix their current woes rather than defecting to a more potent Super Bowl contender.
"I love the people here, and that goes beyond the coaches," Watt continued. "It's the fanbase. It's the people, the community. We owe it to them to get it right, and I want to be a part of the solution. Not leave here and go somewhere else. That's not my intention at all."
Watt earned his seventh straight Pro Bowl nod and made the All-Pro second team with 11.5 sacks and six forced fumbles this season. The 2021 Defensive Player of the Year has tallied an NFL-leading 101 sacks since the start of 2018.
Yet Watt didn't make his mark on Saturday night. He failed to register a single tackle (or any other stat) for the first time in 126 career games.
The Steelers lost their final five games after starting 10-3. Watt pointed the finger at himself when saying he's "very frustrated" with how Pittsburgh's season ended.
"It's a collection of things, and it starts with myself," Watt said, via 93.7 The Fan. "I need to play better. We need to play better. There's not one thing that needs to be fixed here. There's a lot of things, but it starts internally with myself. I need to play better in bigger moments. It will be a long offseason to have to sit with that."
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