The Steelers are scheduled to return to the practice field at 10:45 a.m. Monday as they ramp up their preparation to play the Bills in Buffalo next Sunday in their regular season opener.
And T.J. Watt is expected to go from spectator in practice to full participant, with or without a new contract.
The two sides remain close on a new deal that would extend Watt's contract beyond the 2021 season and make him one of, if not the, highest-paid defensive player in the NFL.
But even if the deal isn't completed in time for Monday's practice, Watt remains under contract for the 2021 season at a guaranteed base salary of $10.089 million, giving him the third-highest salary cap hit on the team this year.
Watt has attended all of the team's mandatory practice sessions since the start of minicamp in June. But even though he was in attendance, he did not participate in any of the team's on-field activities, working out on his own or with a trainer on the side. He did so, however, with the team's blessing.
"That negotiation process is going to run its course," Mike Tomlin said early last month. "Some run their courses faster than others. If I remember correctly, Cam Heyward had less than 100 percent participation when he was in a similar circumstance a short time ago."
Heyward agreed to a four-year extension Sept. 6 of last year, eight days before the team's regular season opener against the Giants.
The Steelers, who have been off since last Wednesday, have a long-standing rule that they won't negotiate a new deal -- no matter how close -- once the regular season begins. That gives Watt and the Steelers a firm deadline of next Saturday when they board a plane to travel to Buffalo to get the deal completed.
There is precedent for taking negotiations right up to the last minute. In 2011, Troy Polamalu signed a new deal at the airport the day before the team played the Ravens in their season opener.
Watt finished second in the NFL Defensive Player of the Year voting in 2020, when he led the league in sacks with 15. In 2019, he finished third in that same voting. In 62 career games, he's recorded 49.5 sacks and 17 forced fumbles while also intercepting four passes.
