T.J. Watt wasn't present for voluntary OTAs and many wondered if he planned on holding out as he and the Pittsburgh Steelers try to work out a contract extension.
The Steelers began mandatory minicamp on Tuesday, which was the first time players were required to be in the building this offseason. Watt, of course, was noticeably absent, which made his holdout official.
Watt now stands to receive fines that will total over $100,000, but the Steelers could opt to rescind those fines down the road.
Regardless, all of this would seem to be a terrible sign for how things are going in contract talks with the Steelers, but NFL Network's Mike Garafolo had a positive take on the saga.
"I don't feel that this one is contentious," the NFL insider said. "If a player misses mandatory minicamp over the next couple days, you don't have to fine a player. We'll see what the Steelers wind up doing on this one.
"I know that they feel really good about the talks that they've had and the offers that they've made... Mike Tomlin has the belief that T.J. Watt is gonna be just fine working away from the facility, so they're not stressing about that part of it.
"If there was a pressure point right now, and the start of training camp seems like it's a pressure point, I feel like this thing would get done. And it will get done at some point," Garafolo concluded.
If things were going in a positive direction, one would assume that Watt would at least show up for mandatory minicamp, even if he doesn't practice. That would've avoided all this hoopla around Watt and the Steelers.
That's the part that doesn't square up with Garafolo's take.
Watt's actions actually fortify a previous comment from ESPN's Brooke Pryor, who says "all signs point to this not being as smooth as the Steelers had once hoped."
"If you remember a couple of months ago, he posted on Instagram a picture of him holding up a peace sign in a Steelers uniform that really got a lot of fans nervous," Pryor said on ESPN's Get Up. "I was told at that point that he had not had contact with the organization to personally express his frustration with the contract situation.
"But all signs point to this not being as smooth as the Steelers had once hoped."
It remains unclear what the holdup is exactly, but Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette believes the Steelers will have to match the guaranteed money that Cleveland Browns superstar edge rusher Myles Garrett received, which is $124 million.
The problem is that Watt is set to turn 31 in October and it's a risky proposition giving him that much guaranteed money, as he could start to decline before his contract is up.
That leaves the Steelers in a tough spot because they also desperately need Watt. That fact will ultimately lead to Pittsburgh caving at some point and giving the superstar edge rusher what he wants.
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