Many Pittsburgh Steelers fans were beyond excited heading into this past week. The last weekend was filled with excitement as the team made drastic changes on the roster, primarily at the quarterback position.

Let’s see what Omar Khan is cooking up next!!

Well, that was a whole lot of nothing.

The week came, and the week went, with the Steelers not doing anything other than adding an assistant secondary coach to their coaching staff. Not to underscore the addition to the coaching staff, but Steelers fans were looking for more moves, as in changes to their roster.

While that didn’t happen, something did happen which provided some clarity to comments made when Russell Wilson stood in front of the Pittsburgh media for the first time as a member of the Steelers organization. Wilson talked about how he FaceTimed Cam Heyward for an hour, and how other leaders like Minkah Fitzpatrick and T.J. Watt had reached out to try and recruit him to the Steelers.

Tough words for Kenny Pickett to hear, and likely the final straw which broke the proverbial camel’s back and had him requesting a change of scenery.

Most didn’t think much about these comments the past week, but when T.J. Watt was honored at the 101 Awards for being named the 2023 AFC Defensive Player of the Year, he spoke with some local media after he was given the award.

Last night, @_TJWatt was honored at the #101Awards for being named the 2023 AFC Defensive Player of the Year. pic.twitter.com/B9pvV6Vkh5

— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) March 23, 2024

Watch the video below, and you’ll hear Watt talk about how excited he is for both quarterbacks, Justin Fields and Russell Wilson, but mainly Wilson, who has won a Super Bowl and been to two. Watt talks about how he hasn’t even won a playoff game since being drafted in 2017, and how he is excited to learn from a player like Wilson.

#Steelers fans will enjoy this..

TJ Watt giving his take on the quarterback room with Russell Wilson and Justin Fields.

"I haven't won a playoff game since my whole career [in Pittsburgh] so I'm open to any type of information." pic.twitter.com/eTfWSPgadF

— PJ Green (@PJGreenTV) March 23, 2024

But did you catch everything there in that video? Did you hear the talk at the end of the clip? Let me spell it out for you…

“It’s tough. A very tough, competitive league. So much parity, even in our division. You look at all the quarterbacks, I’m just glad we have one.”

Maybe I’m connecting dots which aren’t even there to connect, but that last sentence certainly resonated with me as I watched it for the first time. I listened about a dozen other times, and for someone as calculated as Watt, this isn’t a slip up. It is him being honest.

The Steelers defense has been good enough to get there the past few seasons, but the offense literally was like an anchor keeping them stuck in the same place. Watt likely sees the trend in the league at the quarterback position. Either you have a dynamic playmaker, or you have nothing.

In Kenny Pickett they didn’t have that player, but in Wilson and Fields, they might have a shot.

Some will say the talk of “wasting a player’s prime years” is a narrative which is lazy and uninformed. I tend to believe there are players like Watt, who have won some incredible individual awards in his career, who have done it all but win when it matters most. He likely looks at Cam Heyward and how he has never won a Super Bowl. Players who have come before who fall into the same category. At this point, there is no homegrown Steelers talent who have experienced the joy of hoisting a Lombardi trophy on the current roster. In fact, only Heyward and Chris Boswell have ever tasted victory in the postseason.

So thinking Watt feels some urgency to get over that hump might not be just a “fan narrative” as some might believe. For players like Watt, Fitzpatrick and Heyward, it is like time where they say “enough is enough”. Time to put together a team who can compete for a championship.

Have the Steelers done everything they need to do at this juncture to label themselves as contenders? Not yet, but they’ve taken some pretty big steps in the right direction. There is still work to be done, and I don’t blame any of the players, especially defenders, for seeing the moves being made and thinking, “Finally!”

Sometimes enough is enough…