JJ Watt Calls Out Steelers Leak After Aaron Rodgers’ Reaction to Tomlin’s Exit Reported

JJ Watt is apparently unhappy to see reports about how Pittsburgh Steelers players privately reacted to the departure of longtime head coach Mike Tomlin.

Watt responded Thursday to a report from The Athletic’s Mike DeFabo about how both his brother, TJ Watt, and quarterback Aaron Rodgers had emotional reactions to Tomlin’s exit.

“Feels like this moment could have stayed in the meeting room,” Watt wrote on X.

DeFabo wrote that one player said Watt was “visibly upset” and kept repeating the word “no” during Tomlin’s final speech to his team on Tuesday.

He also wrote that Rodgers apologized to Tomlin “through sobs” after the former head coach’s address.

Tomlin stepped down from his position as head coach after his 19th season with the Steelers ended with a Wild Card loss to the Houston Texans.

The defeat extended the Steelers’ playoff win drought to nine seasons. The team’s last postseason win came with a Wild Card victory in January 2017, months before Watt was drafted.

When asked about the rumors surrounding Tomlin’s job security after Monday’s loss to the Texans, Watt said only, “I haven’t heard much of it, honestly.”

Rodgers, when asked a similar question, offered a defense not just of Tomlin but of Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur.

Rodgers spent four seasons in Green Bay with LaFleur, whose job security was also the subject of rumors after the Packers blew a late lead in a Wild Card loss to the Chicago Bears last Saturday.

“When you hear conversation about the Mike Tomlins of the world, Matt LaFleurs of the world, those are two that I played for. And when I first got in the league, there wouldn’t be conversation about whether those two guys were on the hot seat,” Rodgers said after Monday’s Wild Card loss.

Rodgers added, “Mike T’s had more success than damn near anybody in th league for the last 19, 20 years. And more than that, when you have the right guy, and the culture is right, you don’t think about making a change.”

Watt is currently signed through the 2028 season after signing an extension with the Steelers last July, although Rodgers’ future with the franchise is more uncertain following Tomlin’s exit.

Steelers president Art Rooney II said Wednesday that Rodgers “came here to play for Mike,” and that he expects Tomlin’s departure “would most likely affect his decision.”