Could a blockbuster trade bring T.J. Watt's dominant pass rush to Los Angeles? The Chargers face a crucial decision with significant cap implications.
The Pittsburgh Steelers are not exactly tanking their upcoming season the way that the Miami Dolphins are, but there is some reason to think that they might be looking to reshape their team in 2026 with an eye towards the future.
One reason for that would be a change in head coach, the Steelers' first such change in two decades, with Mike Tomlin being replaced by Mike McCarthy. At 62 years old, McCarthy is not really in the same mold of Tomlin (or Bill Cowher) and likely won't still be the team's head coach in 20 years.
McCarthy can't afford to be patient in the changes he wants to implement to the team to reach greater heights than what Tomlin has been able to accomplish since 2010 (when the Steelers were last in the Super Bowl).
Another, more important reason, is that this is a team without a starting QB. Seriously! If the preseason started today, it would be a battle between Mason Rudolph and Will Howard to be the team's starting QB.
Last year's starting QB, 42-year old Aaron Rodgers, reportedly got Mike McCarthy fired in Green Bay due to a lack of respect for the coach's football IQ. If he is re-signed, he's still 42-years old with plenty of off-field baggage (both specific to McCarthy and not) and spent the 2025 season trying to avoid being hit more than trying to win games.
You could very easily argue that the Steelers showed, in their 30-6 loss to the Houston Texans in the playoffs, that Rodgers is no longer good enough to win against a good defense. But the Steelers have left themselves without a lot of other choices.
Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette was recently making an appearance on local Pittsburgh sports radio and said that the Steelers would be putting some feelers out to see if any team would be willing to trade for T.J. Watt, who is coming off a year where he struggled to stay healthy and struggled to put up his normal dominant pass rush numbers but still made it to his 8th consecutive Pro Bowl.
If they were to trade Watt anywhere, it would be to a team that has a need for pass rush help and plenty of salary cap space. Naturally, this led to Bleacher Report's Gary Davenport identifying the Chargers as a potential trade destination for Watt.
Acquiring Watt would take up most of the Chargers' remaining salary cap space this season and next. His contract ends after the 2028 season but he could also be a cost-saving cut before that season.
I don't know that Watt fits what the Chargers are looking for to replace Odafe Oweh, and that's a huge amount of money to lay out for a player that might be in the twilight of his career. I think I'd be excited if the news broke that the Chargers made such a deal, because it would be a sign that they were going all-in on this championship window, but I also don't think I'd recommend they make such a deal (even if it's for a middle-round draft pick) if the team were asking me.