It’s fair to argue OLB T.J. Watt is the most valuable Pittsburgh Steeler on the roster, even moreso than QB Kenny Pickett. Numbers don’t lie. When Watt plays, the Steelers’ defense is a ferocious beast and Pittsburgh normally wins. When Watt sits out, the Steelers’ defense lays down with a whimper and Pittsburgh goes home losers.
With that in mind, PFF hosts Steve Palazzolo and Sam Monson discussed their concern over Watt’s long-term health as they reviewed the Steelers’ 2023 outlook. Injured multiple times over the past several seasons, they wondered if Watt is becoming a liability.
“It’s all these recurring injuries,” Palazzolo said. “If we’re going to talk about Tua’s injuries every year, Lamar. Is T.J. Watt starting to become an injury liability? Where he’s just destined to miss time.”
Watt suffered his most serious injury of his NFL career early last season, a partially torn pectoral muscle in the opener against the Cincinnati Bengals. To that point, Watt and Pittsburgh’s defense dominated the game with Watt recording six tackles (three for a loss), two pass deflections, an interception, and a sack. Lost until after the bye week, the Steelers’ defense went into a shell, losing all semblance of a pass rush. By their off-week, they looked like one of the worst teams in football, blown out by the Buffalo Bills and Philadelphia Eagles.
Though he wasn’t fully healthy, and even underwent knee surgery, Watt returned after the bye week. For the rest of the way, Pittsburgh returned to form with Watt finishing the year with 5.5 total sacks, even still making the Pro Bowl. In 2021, Watt battled a variety of injuries, including groin and hip ailments, and though he played in 15 games, he missed halves of several of them.
Monson agreed with Palazzolo that Watt’s mounting injury list is concerning
“It’s a red flag that’s something’s not right…it’s a risk.”
Before he became an NFL star, Watt’s college career started seeing trainers more often than he saw quarterbacks. He repeatedly suffered knee injuries at Wisconsin, later admitting he almost retired because of it, before getting healthy for the 2016 season and breaking out for an 11.5 sack season. Big brother J.J. Watt began to battle injuries at around the same time of his NFL career, medical issues that would follow him for the rest of his career. After appearing in every NFL game in his first five seasons, J.J. only played in double-digit games in three of his next seven seasons.
While Pittsburgh has insulated themselves with stronger depth this offseason, signing veteran Markus Golden and drafting rookie Nick Herbig, there’s no good Plan B for life without Watt. At best, Golden and Herbig are short-term band-aids, not long-term fixes. Watt must stay healthy for the Steelers to make a serious playoff push, the organization again relying on their defense to be the anchor of the team.
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