The Pittsburgh Steelers have employed several sets of brothers in recent seasons, from Cameron and Connor Heyward, Derek and T.J. Watt, Terrell and Trey Edmunds, Carlos and Khalil Davis, to new pairing Nick and Nate Herbig.
Back in 2021, the Steelers almost united the entire Watt clan in Pittsburgh.
Joining the Green Light with Chris Long podcast, J.J. Watt said that after his release from Houston in 2021, he considered signing with the Steelers to join T.J. and Derek. However, J.J. noted T.J.'s contract negotiations played a role in his decision to join Arizona.
"Certainly, it would have been awesome to play with my brothers, but T.J. was also going through the contract situation there, and the last thing I was going to do was come in and take any money away from his contract," he said.
J.J. inked a two-year deal with the Cardinals in 2021, and later that fall, T.J. signed his four-year, $112 million extension. Perhaps J.J.'s presence would have indeed lowered the Steelers' offer to T.J. It's also possible that Pittsburgh wasn't willing to offer J.J. the same two-year $28 million deal the Cards made.
An interesting follow-up would be to ask T.J. how much money he would have given up for a chance to play with his brother.
During the interview, Watt underscored his decision to retire this offseason, noting he hasn't been working out to play. With the elder Watt officially done, we won't get to see J.J., T.J., and possibly Derek, share an NFL locker room.
