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90 In 30: Steelers 2023 Training Camp Preview Series: T.J. Watt, Armon Watts, Cody White

By Dave Bryan

Posted on July 24, 2023 at 8:15 am

The Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2023 offseason practices concluded in the middle of June and next up is their annual training camp, which gets underway in late July at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe. Ahead of training camp, we will preview the team’s offseason roster three players at a time for you as part of a 30-post series. This Steelers roster preview, which includes outlooks for every player, will be done alphabetically by last name to make it easy to follow.

The next three players we will preview ahead of Steelers 2023 training camp are T.J. Watt, Armon Watts, and Cody White.

OLB T.J. Watt: The 2022 season obviously didn’t go the way Watt wanted it to and from the outset at that. A pectoral injury suffered during the Steelers’ Week One game sidelined Watt through the team’s bye week.

Watt still managed to register 5.5 sacks despite missing extensive time due to injury. He also ended the season with 39 total tackles, eight for loss, two interceptions, five passes defensed, one forced fumble and 12 quarterback hits. He played just 502 defensive snaps in 2022 and that obviously was a career low for him. Even after Watt returned to action in 2022, he never seemed to be 100 percent healthy.

Outlook: It’s easy to write an annual outlook for Watt, especially if he stays healthy. The expectations are for him to have a season similar to the one he had in 2021 and thus make a run at a second NFL Defensive Player of the Year award. Basically, 20 or more sacks are within reason along with seven forced fumbles and 25 tackles for loss.

Watt is a true game wrecker and one that teams need to plan around. Even so, the Steelers’ front figures to be a tough one to game plan for and that should play into Watt’s favor from time to time. Expect him to have an All-Pro season if he can avoid injuries and the bumps and bruises he had in 2022.

DE Armon Watts: Back in April, the Steelers signed Watts, who played for the Chicago Bears last season, to a one-year contract that totals out at $1.2325 million. It includes a signing bonus of $152,500, which is the only guaranteed money involved in the deal. For his NFL career, Watts, who was selected by the Minnesota Vikings in the sixth round (190th overall) of the 2019 NFL Draft out of Arkansas, has eight sacks, 125 total tackles, seven tackles for loss and 15 quarterback hits in 57 game. He also has one pass defensed and three forced fumbles for his NFL career.

In 2022 with the Bears, Watts logged 532 defensive snaps in addition to 16 more on special teams. He registered 35 total tackles in 2022 with four of those resulting in lost yardage. He also was credited with one sack, and two quarterback hits in the 17 regular-season games that he played in.

Outlook: Watts is a versatile defensive lineman who can play up and down the line of scrimmage, including him logging snaps over the top of the center. That position versatility figures to result in him making the 53-man roster to start the 2023 regular season. While Watts might not be a Week One starter for the Steelers, he still figures to play a part in the weekly rotation on the defensive line.

Anywhere between 300 and 500 total defensive snaps played for Watts in 2023 figures to be a good range for him. He’s just 27 years old and still has tread left on his tires. His athleticism up front sticks out on tape and his career year in 2021 is an upside that he’ll look to play up to in 2023. He could wind up being a very underrated offseason signing for the Steelers if he plays up to his potential and isn’t overused.

WR Cody White: A former undrafted free agent out of Michigan State, White, who broke into the NFL initially in 2020 with the Kansas City Chiefs, has become a professional practice player of sorts for the Steelers. He’s been on the Pittsburgh practice squad the last three seasons and in the process managed to get himself elevated to the gameday roster a few times during that span.

Last season, White was elevated from the practice squad once and logged 10 offensive snaps and nine more on special teams. He registered one catch in 2022 for 2 yards. He will turn 25 in November and is the son of Sheldon White, the Steelers’ Director of Pro Scouting.

Outlook: It’s hard to imagine White finally breaking through this summer and making the 53-man roster. Nearly all of the wide receiver spots seem to be spoken for before even training camp gets underway and thus several injuries would need to occur for White to be in serious consideration for a Week One roster spot.

While White shouldn’t make the 53-man roster later this summer, another season on the practice squad can’t be ruled out. The Steelers will have several other young wide receivers also vying for practice squad spots but the fact that White has some usefulness as a special teamer might give him an advantage over others. For my money, it’s practice squad or bust for White this summer.

Related Items:2023 Training Camp, Armon Watts, Cody White, T.J. Watt

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