One day after being placed on season-ending injured reserve Pittsburgh Steelers rookie safety Ryan Watts’ injury appears more serious than expected.
According to The Athletic’s Mike DeFabo, Watts was seen at practice Wednesday at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex on the South Side wearing a neck brace.
DeFabo tweeted it moments ago.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Brian Batko actually captured video of Watts in the neck brace, though seemingly without noticing, tweeting about rookie offensive tackle Troy Fautanu’s pass sets during practice.
You can see Watts off to the side wearing the neck brace in the video.
Watts left the preseason finale against the Detroit Lions last Saturday with what appeared to be a serious injury, as he remained down on the field a long time before walking off. Head coach Mike Tomlin described it as a stinger after the game.
The injury, obviously, was much worse than the Steelers believed after the game, as it was serious enough to land Watts on IR to end his rookie season.
The Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac reported Tuesday night that the injury was more serious than expected, though didn’t offer further details.
Prior to the injury, Watts was headed in the right direction after making the transition to safety from cornerback. As a sixth-round pick out of Texas, Watts made the move to safety while learning under the mentorship of veteran safety DeShon Elliott.
Watts played 83 snaps defensively in the preseason and graded out at a 53.0 overall from Pro Football Focus, including a 59.4 against the run and a 51.6 in coverage. He was charged with allowing two receptions for 23 yards.
The rookie lined up all over the field for the Steelers, logging 51 snaps in the box, one along the defensive line, 13 in the slot, and 18 at free safety.
Hopefully we find out more about Watts’ injury and the nature of it, but for now hopefully his recovery is smooth. Neck injuries are certainly scary.
