Steelers legend predicts when T.J. Watt could be released

The Pittsburgh Steelers are locked into a less-than-ideal contract situation with T.J. Watt, but one NFL legend believes a time could be coming soon when the team decides to pull the plug.

According to former Steelers outside linebacker James Harrison, the team could look to move on from Watt once his full guaranteed money runs out in 2028.

“T.J. has a lot of guaranteed money left on his contract,” Harrison said via the Deebo and Joe podcast. “T.J. has '26 and '27. I don’t see him going anywhere unless they could potentially get something for him in a trade because I don’t see anybody taking a $42 million cap hit in each year.

“So, '26 and '27 is $42 million each, and that is fully guaranteed. And then, '28, it’s not guaranteed, but he has a roster bonus that is due of $15 million on the third day of the new league year. So, I hate to say it, in all reality, I would see them releasing him in '28, along with him being 34 at the time.”

At the time in July 2025, Watt became the highest-paid non-quarterback when he signed his three-year, $123 million extension. He went on to have a mediocre 2025 season, however, failing to record at least eight sacks for only the third time in his nine-year career.

Hopefully, Watt can turn things around in a major way this upcoming season, proving that he deserved every penny of his then-record-setting extension.

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This article originally appeared on Steelers Wire: Steelers could move on from T.J. Watt in 2028, says James Harrison