Steelers trade pitch sends ‘too expensive’ T.J. Watt to Eagles in another player-for-player blockbuster deal

The Pittsburgh Steelers shocked the NFL world on Monday morning with their bombshell trade that sent safety Minkah Fitzpatrick to the Miami Dolphins for cornerback Jalen Ramsey, tight end Jonnu Smith and a swap of Day 3 draft picks.

While some will (fairly) question Pittsburgh’s plan to cut ties with the 28-year-old Fitzpatrick in exchange for a pair of players on the wrong side of 30, there’s no denying the team’s all-in approach to the upcoming 2025 season with Aaron Rodgers now at the helm.

The next order of business for Pittsburgh is to pay the actual face of the franchise, superstar EDGE T.J. Watt, who continues to hold out for a contract extension. The looming deal will likely cost the Steelers around $40 million per season, but on the heels of the Ramsey trade, the team almost has to bend a little bit here to ensure the best player on the roster doesn’t miss substantial time during training camp.

The most likely scenario? Watt and the Steelers find common ground, in similar fashion to Myles Garrett and his short "trade demand" this offseason with the Cleveland Browns. 

Sports talk radio host Andrew Fillipponi of 93.7 The Fan in Pittsburgh, however, still believes Watt’s contract standoff could end in a divorce from his team of eight years. Fillipponi joined 94WIP Philadelphia’s Joe Giglio on Tuesday and proposed another player-for-player blockbuster trade that he said of the Steelers: “I think they make that trade.”

Here was Fillipponi’s trade pitch to Giglio:

• Eagles receive: T.J. Watt 
• Steelers receive: Nolan Smith Jr., late-round 2026 draft pick

“You know, the Eagles, once upon a time, traded Kiko Alonso for Shady McCoy,” Fillipponi told Giglio. “The Steelers just traded Minkah Fitzpatrick for Jalen Ramsey. I used to just live in a world where I was like, ‘Alright, maybe a first-round pick is all you get back.’ But maybe there would be players involved. Like, if the Eagles called up the Steelers and said, ‘We want T.J. Watt. We’ll trade you Nolan Smith and a late-round pick.’ I think they make that trade. I really do. If something like that were ever put on the table, I think (the Steelers) would get younger, because they could also sell it as, ‘Well, we get a player like this, we’re not punting on the season with a 41-year-old Aaron Rodgers.’”

Fillipponi went on to clarify that he doesn’t think a hypothetical trade like this is all that realistic, but he’s clearly not sold that Watt is 100% sticking with Pittsburgh for the long haul.

“I think that would be the type of thing that would get Mike Tomln’s attention,” Fillipponi added of his trade pitch, “especially if he thinks T.J. Watt doesn’t want to play here and is too expensive and is 30 years old. So, I don’t know. I mean, I would think originally, ‘Hey, a first-round pick and then you go from there.’ But maybe they would want a player based on how things went with the Dolphins trade.”

If news breaks in the coming weeks that the Steelers are actually listening to offers on Watt, the Eagles will be a natural go-to for prognosticators. First of all, this is Howie Roseman we’re talking about. Also, thanks to their modest start to 2025 free agency, the Eagles have ample salary cap space and a ton of 2026 draft capital to leverage in trade talks.

In reality, though, there’s no shot.

In this hypothetical, Philly would be parting with an ascending Nolan Smith Jr., who’s still only 24 and is under team control until 2027, if the team picks up his fifth-year option. Watt, obviously, is the more dominant player, but he’s now entering his ninth season and his contract demands aren’t going anywhere. Trading a good, young player like Smith means you’re paying Watt that $40 million per year extension. What would that mean for guys like Jalen Carter, Reed Blankenship and Nakobe Dean.

Philly’s definitely positioned to make a splash move this summer, and Watt would send their already elite roster to another stratosphere. But the pieces (and financials) don’t really add up, nor do they fit with the plan the Eagles have executed since the start of the new league year.

This trade pitch is fun fodder for a sports radio topic, but little more than that.

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