Tj Watt Trade Talk Puts Steelers on Nick Herbig Path

Joe Starkey pushed the Steelers toward a rare reset: trade tj watt, use the return to pay Nick Herbig, and move another first-round pick into the pipeline. He said Watt’s name still carries value even after a down year, and he framed Herbig as the player Pittsburgh should prioritize if it chooses youth over a slower exit.

Starkey’s Watt Verdict

“Yes, they should, Dr. Team. They should have traded him long before this, actually, in the name of rebuilding.” Starkey wrote in response to a reader asking whether Pittsburgh should move Watt. He added, “I think he still has some great football in front of him, even if his best years are behind him.”

That is the friction in the argument. He is not writing Watt off as empty production. He is saying the Steelers can still sell a high-end edge rusher while the market remains warm enough to bring back real assets.

Starkey pointed to Watt’s down year anyway: seven sacks, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, one interception, eight defended passes, 10 tackles for loss, 27 quarterback pressures and 19 quarterback hits. He also said teams that would have chased Myles Garrett would still look at Watt, and he singled out Philadelphia, Dallas, the Giants and the Buffalo Bills as clubs the Steelers should listen to if they called.

Herbig Over Watt

“And yes, Nick Herbig should be the priority here,” Starkey wrote. He said Watt would still fetch a first-round pick, though he was careful to separate that from the package Cleveland received for Garrett. “We speak of Watt as if he has disappeared into oblivion,” he wrote, before adding that Pittsburgh would not get the Garrett return.

The Garrett package Starkey cited included a first-round pick, Jared Verse and two other picks. His point was narrower: if the Steelers can clear Watt’s contract, pay Herbig and add another first-round pick, he is in. That is a roster-build argument, not a sentimental one.

He said he values going young because that is what Pittsburgh should have leaned into a few years ago. In his view, Watt is still good enough to attract serious interest, but Herbig is the cleaner bet for the next version of the defense and the better fit for a team trying to shift resources.

Steelers Protection List

Starkey’s answer did not stop at Watt and Herbig. In a separate expansion-draft scenario, he said the Steelers should protect Troy Fautanu, Nick Herbig, Alex Highsmith, Derrick Harmon, Zach Frazier, Max Iheanachor, Joey Porter Jr. and Chris Boswell. He also wrote, “I love automatic field goals all the time,” and, “I love having one of the top five kickers in NFL history.”

Boswell’s inclusion shows how Starkey sees the roster: youth first, premium edge players next, and a kicker who has already separated himself from the rest of the board. The list also makes the broader point clear — if Pittsburgh ever chooses to rework its core, the conversation starts with Watt and moves quickly toward who should replace him in the long term.