Madden Monday: Steelers need to be cautious of looming spending spree

Tim Benz | Monday, August 16, 2021 6:00 a.m.

Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker T.J. Watt plays during a game against the Washington Football Team on Dec. 7, 2020, in Pittsburgh.

It’s no secret that the Pittsburgh Steelers will have a lot of salary cap space in 2022. According to OverTheCap.com, the most in the NFL at a projected $63.6 million.

But if all the players Steelers fans want to retain get the money they are looking for, then that number is going to shrink quickly.

I’m talking about defensive All-Pros T.J. Watt and Minkah Fitzpatrick, who are coming up on the end of their entry-level contracts — Watt at the end of this year, Fitzpatrick after 2022. Veteran Joe Haden is looking for a new deal. And the city already seems to have fallen in love with newly acquired Joe Schobert before he has even taken a snap in a preseason game.

In this week’s “Madden Monday” podcast, 105.9 The X host and TribLIVE columnist Mark Madden joins me to talk about how much the Steelers should spend on retaining their own talent.

As Madden points out, Ben Roethlisberger signed a $37.5 million extension back in 2019, the most money the Steelers have ever guaranteed a player. There are reports that Watt could command more than $100 million guaranteed.

“I remain steadfast in my belief that I would not do that,” Madden said. “I would franchise Watt for two years after he plays out the final year of his contract this season. You can keep him for $47 million total over the next three years, and he doesn’t have to agree to anything … I think that gets you through most of Watt’s prime.”

The counter to that argument would be, “What if Watt never reports like Le’Veon Bell in 2018?”

Madden isn’t concerned about that.

“I don’t think T.J. Watt has that in him honestly,” Madden said. “I think he’d be mad. But he’d play.”

It’s Madden’s opinion that if the Steelers break the mold on Watt, there wouldn’t be an end to the spending in sight.

“I think if you give him $100 million, what do you give Minkah Fitzpatrick when he wants to be the highest-paid safety?” Madden wondered.

For as good as Fitzpatrick and Watt may be, Madden says that the layout of cash won’t be allocated to the right positions.

“The three most important positions in football are quarterback, cornerback and left tackle,” Madden continued. “If the Steelers spend all that money on a couple of guys and those guys are none of those above — not a quarterback, corner, or left tackle — I don’t think that’s the way to build a football team.”

And let’s be honest, between Terry Bradshaw and Roethlisberger, the Steelers didn’t have a great reputation for drafting quarterbacks. Nor do they have the best track record when it comes to spending heavy draft capital on cornerbacks or left tackles.

So Madden has a simple solution.

“I just think they should give everybody on the team everything they want,” Madden quipped.

Well, that ought to make the masses happy.

Also in this week’s “Madden Monday,” Mark and I discuss the Steelers’ decision to acquire linebacker Joe Schobert from the Jacksonville Jaguars, Dwayne Haskins’ future, the stumbling Pirates and the big week that was for wrestling in Pittsburgh.