The Steelers generally don’t negotiate contract extensions during the regular season, which means that the window to get deals done this summer is starting to close.
Cornerback Joe Haden would like to see it stay open long enough for him to net an extension that keeps him in Pittsburgh beyond the coming season. Haden is in the final year of the two-year extension he signed with the team in 2019 and told Mark Kaboly of TheAthletic.com that he’d like to remain with the Steelers in 2022, but he knows that others are in line ahead of him.
Haden said linebacker T.J. Watt‘s deal is “the main priority” and also noted that safety Minkah Fitzpatrick is in line for a new contract. Haden knows that getting everything done by the start of the season may be too much to ask.
“It is a real tight situation right now and we are trying to figure it out,” Haden said. “We have priority levels here so I have to see what happens with my boy T.J. first.”
Haden said he hopes that the expected rise in the salary cap next year will be enough to keep everyone on hand and getting something done with Watt now would make that a likelier scenario.