Good Thursday to you Steelers fans.
NFL family reunions always make for great stories. Whether or not they make for great football is another question. I was told yesterday that J.J. Watt is not thrilled with what is going on in Arizona with regards to QB Kyler Murray and may want out. Then this tweet surfaced very early this morning.
If the Arizona Cardinals JJ Watt becomes available via trade, the Steelers and Packers would have interest per league source. #HereWeGo #GoPackGo
— NFL Rumors (@nflrums) February 16, 2022
While this would be a great story with all three Watt brothers in Pittsburgh, let me look at it from the football side of them. Are the Steelers really going to trade for a 32 year-old defensive lineman who has a recent history of injuries. In his last four seasons he’s played 16, 8, 16 and 7 games. In the two years prior, he played in a grand total of 8. Is he still productive and a threat when in healthy? Absolutely he is but there’s also the question of salary. Watt is due to make over $11 million this season with $5.5 of it guaranteed. While the Steelers have more cap space than any time in the recent past I’m not sure this is the best way to spend it. We also need to consider that Derek Watt may be a cap casualty as well which would ruin the reunion. If the Steelers were a player or two away from truly contending then I’d say go for it. The reality is they are not. Nice story for people to write about but in the football sense I’ll pass.
Movin’ On Up
If you never watched “The Jeffersons” on TV in the 1970’s/1980’s, you should. The theme song is worth it. “Movin on up…. To the top…” I’m not a good singer so onward I go. For whatever reason, many Draft experts seem to think the Steelers will trade up in the first round to grab a quarterback. I do not, but let me lay out two scenarios for you. Some believe they could move from 20 to 10. This would cost at minimum a first rounder for next season plus this year’s pick at 20. There is not a QB in this draft worth doing that for so skip it. The more acceptable idea is a move from 20 to say, 17 or 18. While I wouldn’t be overly thrilled by it, the cost would be much more bearable. Who would they move up to get? I can see only Kenny Pickett or Malik Willis as options there.
PFFfffffttt….
Apparently I need to go on another rant against Pro Football Focus whose top two people said yesterday that Ben Roethlisberger is not a Hall of Fame player. It’s just…. It’s just so stupid. If you don’t like Big Ben, that’s fine but don’t act like his career hasn’t warranted HofF entry. Remember these are the same guys who “grade” players every week despite the fact they have no idea what they were supposed to do on the given play. Pathetic.
The Podcast
Episode 256 of the SCB Steelers Podcast presented by DEK Roofing Inc will record this evening. It may be the offseason but there is no shortage of stuff for us to discuss. Look for the post late tonight Eastern time.
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