The Pittsburgh Steelers signed Chris Boswell to a four-year contract extension on Monday which is undoubtedly deserved. That leaves just one player on the roster who is currently expecting a lucrative extension and that would be star wide receiver, Diontae Johnson.
His deal would be much higher than the $5 million a year that Boswell received, but with recent contracts like the near $25 million a year given to Deebo Samuel, the Steelers and Johnson may have missed their window to get a deal done. While Johnson is currently "holding-in," there have been many circumstances in the Tomlin era of players not participating in training camp fully, or even at all.
For the most part, the history within the last decade or so doesn't bode well for the players who decided to hold-in or out in the hopes of getting a deal done. The most recent example is the only one that worked out for both sides.
1.) Steelers' TJ Watt "Hold-In" in 2021
Watt worked out on the side all of training camp last year to ensure that he did not get injured and hurt his chances as becoming the highest paid edge rusher in the NFL. He was rewarded with a four-year, $112 million extension that made him the highest paid defensive player in the league. Watt was clear on his intentions from the very beginning and no one around the league or within Pittsburgh blamed him for his decision.
Pittsburgh Steelers edge rusher, TJ Watt (#90) participates in drills during training camp at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, PA on July 28, 2022. | Twitter: @JSKO_PHOTO
Watt went on to back up his extension and become the AP Defensive Player of the Year in 2021. No one really knows if he would have held out into the regular season before getting paid, but luckily for Steelers fans, the deal got done pretty much the final hour and both parties are happy that it did.
2.) Steelers' Le'Veon Bell Sits Out A Whole Season in 2018
This is the most lopsided holdout that we have seen in Steelers history. The team offered Bell a lucrative deal worth $15 million a year that Bell would decline as he believed he was worth more and wished to reset the running back market. Bell may never admit it, but he was in a great system with a Hall of Fame quarterback and his ego got in the way of him making the right financial and career decision.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Bell went and signed with the New York Jets for just over $13 million a year which shows how ineffective his holdout really was. Not only did he lose a yearly salary of almost $2 million, but after he left Pittsburgh, he had a total of 1,144 yards rushing for four different teams. He had three seasons for the Steelers over that 1,144-yard mark. His football career now seems to be over and his holdout did him no favors looking back.
3.) Steelers' Mike Wallace Holds Out in 2012
Wallace was coming off two straight seasons of 1,150 receiving yards, eight plus touchdowns and believed he was worth more than the $2.7 million tender that was offered by the organization. It is quite possible that he regrets the decision to this day as after he skipped OTA's, minicamp and was not expected at training camp, the Steelers gave Antonio Brown a five-year, $42.5 million extension instead. Wallace held out until he finally reported on August 28th, 2012. This was his last season in Pittsburgh.
Ben Roethlisberger in the huddle with Mike Wallace, and Emmanuel Sanders / USA Today
While Wallace had some solid seasons afterwards with the Miami Dolphins and Baltimore Ravens, he never put up as big of numbers as he did with the Steelers. The franchise was certainly a winner here as they got Brown on a steal who was an All-Pro from 2014-17 while Wallace only played in one playoff game the remainder of his career that saw him have one catch for 10 yards.
History shows that holdouts aren't always a good thing for the player. Could Johnson regret not participating 100% if he is behind the decision? Let us know in the comments below!
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