Steelers fullback Derek Watt has restructured his contract for the upcoming season.
The move, first reported by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, saves the Steelers $880,000 in salary cap space and essentially ensures Watt a spot on the roster in 2021.
Watt played in 12 games for Pittsburgh in 2020 and spent a majority of his time on special teams.
Watt was not targeted once and had zero rushes during the regular season. He had two rushes in the playoff game against Cleveland for a total of two yards and a first down.
The question of why Watt didn’t get the ball more during the regular season, especially in short yardage and red zone situations came up frequently.
The Steelers signed the former Charger to a three-year deal worth $9.75 million. So it’s hard to imagine they paid him that amount of money to just be a blocker on only five percent of the team’s total offensive snaps in the regular season.
Hopefully new offensive coordinator Matt Canada has plans for Watt next season, and judging by the restructuring, they will.
Watt, selected in the sixth round of the 2016 draft, played his first four seasons in San Diego/Los Angeles, before joining his brother T.J. in Pittsburgh last season.
Both T.J. and newly signed Arizona Cardinal J.J. have said that Derek is the most natural athlete out of the three, so it would be nice if he could get a chance to show it.
Watt is signed through 2022.