CLEVELAND, Ohio – JJ Watt discovered that choosing a new team is not an exact science.
Watt, who left the Twitter world in a frenzy on Tuesday by cryptically tweeting “Mitochondria is the cell’s driving force”, has made progress in narrowing its options, but “nothing is imminent” according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.
On Sunday, the Browns were still in the mix because they have a lot of things that Watt is looking for, including potential for the Super Bowl, a good quarterback, supporting cast and money, a league source told cleveland.com.
Andrew Fillipponi of 93.7 The Fan in Pittsburgh tweeted on Wednesday that John Clayton of ESPN 710 in Seattle said on Fillipponi’s show that Watt “Will not come to Pittsburgh” and that Tennessee, Green Bay and Buffalo are the three teams in the mix. He also said that Raiders are the underdog.
Clayton later clarified in a tweet that Tennessee, Green Bay and Buffalo are the pioneers, but that the Browns and Raiders are still at it. The report also differs from one by Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, who said that the Packers will not sign with Watt because they have no space on the cover.
Of the teams most linked to Watt so far, the Browns are 14th in the NFL, with $ 27.66 million in space limit for their first 51 players, according to spotrac.com, the Bills are 20th ($ 4.5 million), Titans 21st ($ 2.3 million), Packers 25th ($ 4.5 million over the limit) and Steelers are $ 6.029 million over the limit.
The Steelers may be opening up soon when it re-contracts Ben Roethlisberger, which the team’s chairman, Art Rooney II, said in a statement on Tuesday, would be the next step towards his return in 2021.
Roethlisberger, who is expected to earn a $ 15 million bonus on March 19, is expected to earn $ 19 million in 2021, but has a $ 41.25 million limit. If the two sides agree to a restructuring, which Roethlisberger said he is willing to do, Steelers will have an opportunity to reinforce their support cast with some new attackers and perhaps a new running back.
This does not mean, however, that they would be able to pay TJ and Derek Watt’s older brother, who could earn $ 12.5 million to $ 17.5 million a year, depending on the length and structure of the deal.
The teams are currently in the process of releasing players and restructuring contracts to reach the limit, which is expected to reach around $ 185 million by the beginning of the league year, on March 17. The minimum cap was increased last week from $ 175 million to $ 180 million.
If the Browns do not hire Watt, they will consider Von Miller, Carl Lawson, Trey Hendrickson, Leonard Williams and Haason Reddick to replace Olivier Vernon, who finished with nine bags last season before suffering an Achilles tendon tear at the end of the season.
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