Nick Bosa will soon replace TJ Watt as the highest paid player in the NFL.
And Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin expects the 49ers’ star defensive end to be on the field Sunday when the two teams open the 2023 regular season.
Tomlin was on the other hand, remembering the lift Watt gave the Steelers in the first week of the 2021 season — just three days after he signed a contract extension that pays him $28 million per season.
“We’re getting ready for Bossa,” Tomlin told the media in Pittsburgh during a press conference Tuesday. “It is wiser for us to assume he will be there and prepare like this than to be surprised.”
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Bosa did not report to Santa Clara along with the rest of his 49ers teammates on July 25 while the two sides were negotiating multi-year contract extensions. Two years ago, Watt was “incarcerated”. He participated in individual workouts but did not see any practice time with the Steelers until his contract was completed.
Watt signed his new contract on Wednesday before Pittsburgh’s season opener at the Buffalo Bills.
“We came to an agreement at the eleventh hour,” Tomlin said. “He showed up on the court, and he was TJ Watt that day. That’s what these guys do. They show up and they are who they are.”
“So we expect him [Bosa] To be there as a wise approach to take. And if he’s going to be there, we know what kind of player he intends to be, and that’s something that has to be dealt with.”
Watt showed no signs of rust in the 2021 season opener after his limited training camp. He played 69 of the Steelers’ 85 defensive snaps (81 percent) and recorded two sacks and five quarterback hits in Pittsburgh’s 23-16 upset win.
Watt went on to appear in 15 games in 2021 and tied Michael Strahan for the NFL single-season record of 22.5 sacks. Watt was named the NFL Defensive Player of the Year.
Bosa is coming off the season recording 18.5 sacks and was named the 2022 NFL Defensive Player of the Year.
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