Joe Starkey’s Mailbag: The Steelers should trade T.J. Watt and sign Nick Herbig … right?

You ask. I answer. It’s time for “Mailing It In,” a weekly Q&A that appears Tuesdays at TribLive.com. Most of the questions come via X, but you can also hit me up at [email protected]. Let’s gooooooo …

Art, sell the team, @de6658: Should the Steelers trade Watt? That would make it easier to sign Herbig to a big contract.

Starkey: Yes, they should, Dr. Team. They should have traded him long before this, actually, in the name of rebuilding. But even with that money on the new contract, T.J. Watt would be a desirable piece for a team.

I think he still has some great football in front of him, even if his best years are behind him. And it only makes sense that if several teams were interested in Myles Garrett — who is a more desirable player — then those teams would still be interested in another high-impact edge rusher.

We speak of Watt as if he has disappeared into oblivion. The Steelers never should have signed him to that contract, but even in a down year, he had seven sacks, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, an interception, eight defended passes, 10 tackles for loss, 27 quarterback pressures and 19 quarterback hits.

Let’s not act like he’s suddenly Taco Charlton. So if Philly or Dallas or the Giants or the Buffalo Bills come calling, the Steelers should be listening.

And yes, Nick Herbig should be the priority here. I have written that. He’s a star in the making.

D Wellsie, @madmidget63: Wish the Steelers would’ve dealt Watt. Great player but gotta move on. What would you demand in compensation for TJ?

Starkey: I think they could get a first-round pick, Dr. 63. They obviously aren’t getting the Garrett package, which included a first-round pick, a really good young player (Jared Verse), plus two other picks.

At this point, though, to get the contract off the books, pay Herbig and have another first-round pick? Yes, sign me up. And you know other teams value edge rushers highly. Just look at how the salaries at that position have exploded.

David Reese, @davidreese36: Hey Joe, my question is, there is an expansion draft and the Steelers must protect eight players. Which eight players are you protecting?

Starkey: Very creative question, Dr. 36, and I the answer is quite simple:

Troy Fautanu, Nick Herbig, Alex Highsmith, Derrick Harmon, Zach Frazier, Max Iheanachor, Joey Porter Jr. and Chris Boswell.

Thank you for asking.

Wait, you’re surprised by the Boswell pick? You shouldn’t be. I love automatic field goals all the time. I love having one of the top five kickers in NFL history.

Clearly, I also value going young here, which is what the Steelers should have gone all in on a few years ago.

SFI, @SFI412724: What’s your favorite club in your golf bag?

Starkey: The putter of course, Dr. SFI. It’s an especially great feeling to pull it out of the bag after one or two shots!

Harold Bloomfield, @HBloom56: How long can the Pirates wait for Ozuna to start hitting before moving on from him?

Starkey: Fair question, Dr. 56, and I would say no longer than the All-Star break. He HAS to start hitting in June.

I thought he had it going in early May. He did. He was starting to come on. But the month wound up pretty sour with these numbers: .219 batting average, .713 OPS, three homers, 13 RBIs. It sure beat April (.181, .513, 2, 8), but it’s not nearly good enough for the $12 million they are paying him.

I don’t blame Don Kelly for benching Marcell Ozuna lately. He has now had time to recalibrate. The Pirates need him. The offense has been very good, but there is also a feast-or-famine aspect to this offense. If the team is going to get where it wants to go, Ozuna has to be a part of it.

The other part of the equation is, who replaces him? There has been talk of Yordan Alvarez coming here, but I don’t buy it. That would be incredible.

I liked the lineup Sunday. Jake Mangum adds some defense. Ryan O’Hearn was the DH. The Pirates still had plenty of pop, and that was without Konnor Griffin, who had been DHing before that because of his arm injury.

I think they could cover it OK, but Ozuna hitting like he can would help take this team to another level.

Jase Collins, @JaseCollins1980: Dr. Starkey, why do you think Ian Happ always turns into Tony Gwynn against the Pirates, but is average at best against the rest of MLB?

Starkey: Clearly, because he’s from Mt. Lebanon, Dr. 1980. Have you been to Uptown Coffee? One of the finest establishments in the United States.

I think you’re actually being a little unfair to Happ, who has become a good major-league hitter. Over the past three years, he hit 69 homers with 249 RBIs. He has an .813 OPS this season with 13 home runs and 31 RBIs.

It’s not just the Pirates he hurts, although his numbers against them are almost laughable. In the equivalent of just about one full season (447 at-bats) he is hitting .311 with a .953 OPS, 21 homers, 87 RBIs, 75 runs and even nine stolen bases. It’s unreal.

He particularly crushes Mitch Keller (.379 average, 1.293 OPS).

Nolan in New Ken, @nolan_in_NK: Morning, Joe! Favorite memory from your time working at the Valley News Dispatch? Have an incorrigible day, I think?

Starkey: Good morning to you, Dr. K. Had to be covering Tom Pipkins at Valley High School. What a player he was! His coach, Tom Myers, was a basketball junkie and a great guy who co-owned a Dairy Queen in Arnold. I used to interview Tom, who has since passed away, through the little screen where he’d be taking orders.

Ed Helinski, @MrEd315: In your estimation, which Steelers’ veterans could be surprise cuts to get to the season opening 53?

Starkey: I passed this question to our Steelers beat writer, Chris Adamski, and this is what he said: “Kaleb Johnson is the easy answer. I don’t know how much names like Asante Samuel Jr. or Malik Harrison move the proverbial needle. I guess Roman Wilson has gotta be on the list.”

Scott in Jersey, @blitzum: I read that you would take a flyer on (Brendan) Sorsby. How much would you give up and what is your plan after that? Aaron, Allar and Sorbsy? I did not like the Allar pick, but I am not ready to toss a third round pick away already.

Starkey: That was before more reports of betting on his own team at Indiana came out, Dr. Jersey, but like I said in the piece: The only reason he could be available to the Steelers in a supplemental draft would be that other teams would pass on him.

Part of that column was tongue-in-cheek, on the idea that the Steelers are collecting quarterback projects for the Mike McCarthy Quarterback School. But I still might take the chance.

How would I do it? Move on from Rudolph and invent an injury for Will Howard, Drew Allar or Brendan Sorsby (assuming you have to subject Sorsby to waivers to send him to the practice squad).

Gooseheimer2023, @gooseheimer83054: Good morning Lieutenant Starkey. Do you think the participants in the National Spelling Bee should’ve been forced to spell “Incrinkulent”?

Starkey: I do, Dr. 2023, and you just spelled it wrong: It’s ‘incrinculent.’

Thank you for asking.