The Dallas Cowboys and Pittsburgh Steelers are two teams trying desperately to get back to the glory days, and as disappointing as the 2025 season was for the Cowboys, things might be worse for Pittsburgh.
The latest playoff debacle for the Steelers came at the hands of the Houston Texans on Monday night in Pittsburgh, and the latest playoff loss has a lot of folks speculating on where the Steelers will go from here. Of course, head coach Mike Tomlin has been considered on the proverbial hot seat by many, but what will the fallout of this latest playoff loss be for the players on the roster?
As you would expect, superstar pass rusher TJ Watt was extremely frustrated after the loss. He's 31 years old and with so much of the future up in the air for Pittsburgh, is it possible he could actually be available via trade in 2026? If that ends up being the case, the Cowboys would have to come calling.
Cowboys need to take advantage of Steelers' playoff debacle and try to trade for TJ Watt
T.J. Watt on what needs to change about this team to have success in the postseason:
— Brooke Pryor (@bepryor) January 13, 2026
"I haven't had the answer for a long time, so don't ask me."
Good thing the phone lines are open between the Cowboys and Steelers, right?
These two teams came together on the George Pickens trade after the 2025 NFL Draft, so the Steelers already own some of the Cowboys' draft capital for 2026 (3rd-round pick). The Cowboys still have two first-round picks thanks to the Micah Parsons trade, and they also have a clear need for help off the edge from that trade.
Watt has an extremely "tradeable" contract after signing an extension with the Steelers during the 2025 offseason, which included $108 million at the time of signing. He received his base salaries for 2025, 2026, and 2027 as initial guarantees, so the Cowboys (or any team trading for him) would only need to figure out the salary cap gymnastics to make it happen.
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A few salary restructures for guys like Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, and Tyler Smith will give the Cowboys ample flexibility to make a ton of moves, but it would be a challenge to keep everybody as well as trade for Watt. Meaning, the Cowboys would have to get creative to prevent George Pickens from hitting free agency while also making a deal like this one.
But if anyone should be considered desperate enough to make a move like this, the Cowboys have to be near the top of the list, right?
The Micah Parsons trade was a disaster, no matter how excited Jerry Jones is about the future draft capital. Getting Quinnen Williams in the mix was huge for the Cowboys, but they need a consistent presence off the edge.
Maybe there will be options less expensive than Watt in terms of the cost to acquire via trade as well as take on the remainder of the contract, but all of the factors at play here could make Watt available for a much more reasonable price. Entering his age-32 season, the Steelers can't expect a 1st-round return for Watt.
The Cowboys should be lurking on as many of the possible trade candidates off the edge as they possibly can this offseason. Relying on the incoming rookie class might not cut it.