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As a fellow member of the terrific 2017 Pittsburgh Steelers’ draft class, extensive receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster is lobbying for 2017 Steelers’ first-rounder T.J. Watt to be paid by the franchise that gave them each a chance to stay out their NFL desires.
Chatting with reporters Friday following the second official observe of coaching camp in Pittsburgh, Smith-Schuster made the case for the Steelers paying Watt. Although it’s a foregone conclusion that the Steelers and Watt will come to an settlement on a market-setting extension on the EDGE place previous to Week 1, Smith-Schuster was fast to throw his assist behind his teammate, praising Watt for his play on the sphere and making the case for his significance to the franchise.
“Yeah, they acquired to pay T.J.,” Smith-Schuster stated to reporters. “They acquired to care for T.J. He’s a man who’s a nonstop motor man. He deserves it, you understand, each little bit of it. So if anybody on the group deserves to be paid, he’s a man who can be nice for the Steelers not simply now, however sooner or later for positive.
“T.J. [should get] 130, 140, 150 [million] simply,” Smith-Schuster added.
Although a fellow teammate ought to by no means really be speaking about one other participant’s cash, Smith-Schuster dealt with this properly because the Steelers and Watt proceed to debate an extension.
Watt really does deserve each little bit of what’s coming his approach financially, contemplating he’s shortly developed into the sport’s finest EDGE defender, no matter what different media retailers say. He’s one of the disruptive defenders within the NFL, and can flip simply 27 years previous in October, which means he’s simply hitting his prime.
As a man that got here into Pittsburgh in the identical draft class with Watt, Smith-Schuster has seen firsthand the work that Watt places in, which supplies him floor to face one in relation to commenting on Watt’s work ethic and what he means to the franchise. I by no means wish to see a reporter ask a participant a few teammate’s contract negotiation, however Smith-Schuster pivoted properly right here and made it largely concerning the participant Watt is, reasonably than his monetary value.
“He means a lot [to this team], man,” Smith-Schuster stated. “I’m not simply speaking about on the sphere, off the sphere, you understand? He’s our spokesman for our group. You understand, he speaks, you understand, not by actions. He doesn’t simply speak the speak, he walks the stroll and you understand, that’s the one you need in your locker room. And I’ve observed that, you understand, the day I walked in as a rookie, he deserved each, each piece of it.”
It could be good to see the Steelers retain Watt long-term, after which by some means discover a method to retain Smith-Schuster long-term subsequent offseason after a vicious free company cycle for the younger receiver this previous offseason resulted in him getting a meager one-year deal on the open market. Smith-Schuster is a crucial piece to the success of the Steelers offense and is a key chief within the receiver room, however for now the eye is on Watt and his subsequent contract, which I’m sure Smith-Schuster is happy with considering the way minicamp went following his comments about his one-year deal.
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