Report: TJ Watt to miss 'about six weeks' with pectoral injury
The bad news for Pittsburgh is that TJ Watt is going to be missing some time with a pectoral injury. The good news is the rehab timeline is shorter than expected after Sunday’s win over the Cincinnati Bengals.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter revealed Watt will only miss “about six weeks” due to his injury. The reigning Defensive Player of the Year was previously thought to be out for the season. However, since surgery is not required, Watt will be back on the field at some point this year.
“Doctors determined this afternoon that Steelers’ LB T.J. Watt does not surgery on his torn pectoral and he now is expected to miss about six weeks, per source,” Schefter said.
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Watt suffered the injury late in the fourth quarter vs. Cincinnati. From the moment it occurred, he knew what had happened. Walking off the field holding his chest, he was seen mouthing “I tore my pec, I tore my pec.”
While the six weeks might be positive news, Watt will still be a major loss for Pittsburgh. He was having a dominant performance on Sunday, already filling up the stat sheet. Watt finished with six tackles, three tackles for a loss, a sack, an interception, and two passes defended. Especially in an AFC North matchup, it was an incredible showing for Watt.
Over the next six games, the Steelers have a few crucial matchups on the schedule. They will travel to Cleveland Week 3 and Buffalo Week 5. New England will be in town on Sunday. Some big-named AFC quarterbacks/opponents will not have to face the wrath of Watt.
Oct. 30 against Philadelphia could be the earliest return date, at least based on the six-week timeline.
While TJ Watt is out, Najee Harris will play for Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers fans got some good news about Najee Harris after he left Week 1 with an injury. He made one thing clear during an interview Tuesday: He’ll be ready to roll for Week 2.
Harris appeared on Mad Dog Sports Radio on SiriusXM Tuesday morning and made a statement that will be music to Steelers Nation’s ears.
“I’ll be back at practice this week, and then I will be playing this weekend,” he told Adam Schein.
Harris left Pittsburgh’s season opener against the Cincinnati Bengals with an ankle injury as the Steelers narrowly defeated the Bengals in overtime. However, tests came back negative, which meant he didn’t aggravate the Lisfranc injury he suffered in training camp.