PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Steelers have had thoughts of moving TJ Watt around over the last year plus, the team captain didn’t want to do it. Now with a new coaching staff, it’s likely to happen and Watt is buying in.
Watt has always wanted to line up on the left side of the defensive line where he would go against the right tackle. His success being at that spot likely had something to do with it, eight Pro Bowls in nine years and in the top five in voting for Defensive Player of the Year five times, winning in 2021.
As teams last year had more success against him, especially putting extra bodies and chip blocks to his side, Watt had down numbers for him, seven sacks and 10 tackles for loss in 14 games.
Now with some urging and maybe introspection, Watt is amenable to new ideas.
“I think in the past it was a little bit more of me being stubborn, and I think this new system a lot of it's built in, so I really can't say no,” Watt explained Wednesday. “I have to move with it.”
From the initial news conference with new Steelers defensive coordinator Patrick Graham, he’s been asked about moving Watt around as other big-time pass rushers, including Myles Garrett, do. Graham would defer to it still being early. What it appears now is that Graham wanted an opportunity to explain his defense to the Steelers all-time sack leader.
“A lot of us are interchangeable parts,” Watt said Wednesday. “You're not just learning your position; you kind of have to learn the whole defensive front structure because we all are basically interchangeable.”
That also ties into the discussion of giving Nick Herbig $100 million and why the team says it’s not looking to trade Watt, Herbig or Alex Highsmith, rather it has plans of using all three.
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Head coach Mike McCarthy has talked often in his few months with the Steelers about roster flexibility and using an entire roster.
“We can do different things, so I think you're going to see a lot more movement out of not just me, but the whole front,” Watt said.
Watt said he’s spending this time getting to know the system and ‘play the best that I possibly can’.
What once seemed to be a touchy subject with Watt of moving around, now almost seems to be an excitement for the 31-year-old to learn something new.
“That's the cool thing about this group, we're constantly trying to help each other out,” Watt said. “We don't care who makes the plays, we just want to be as successful as we possibly can. We want to work together and just continue to grow.”
“I’m just really happy with how things have started this summer.”
A happy, inspired TJ Watt, what could that mean for the 2026 defense.
What the defensive captain said of bouncing around the line
What the defensive captain said of bouncing around the line
