Battling back from an ankle injury suffered late in the Week 15 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker T.J. Watt appears good to go for Saturday’s pivotal AFC North matchup against the Baltimore Ravens.
After missing practice Tuesday and being limited Wednesday, Watt practiced in full on Thursday and has no injury designation, meaning he’ll play Saturday at M&T Bank Stadium. That doesn’t mean he won’t be limited as he’s still working back from the ankle injury.
Speaking with reporters Thursday ahead of the battle with the Ravens, Watt stated that he’s aiming to be on the field as much as he can and doesn’t foresee a snap count limiting him. But if that’s in play on Saturday, the star pass rusher said he will try to maximize his snaps and make plays.
“I’m trying to be out there as much as I possibly can. Obviously, I wouldn’t want to do that [snap count], but if that’s the only thing that I can do, then I’m going to take what I can get,” Watt said, according to video via Steelers.com.
Playing through an ankle injury is nothing new for Watt. In fact, he did so in the 2021 season, not missing time at all. He also wasn’t on a pitch count, either. During the 2021 season, Watt rolled his ankle in Week 4 against the Green Bay Packers. He returned to that game with his ankle heavily taped and the following week never missed a beat.
Watt played 50 out of a possible 60 snaps against the Denver Broncos, and then played 56, 51 and 56 snaps in the three weeks after that, continuing to work on a heavy snap count for the Black and Gold.
So, the history is there with Watt. Granted, this is a short week, but he’s progressed throughout it and doesn’t have an injury designation, which is very positive.
If the Steelers want to limit his snaps early so that he’s able to go full tilt late in the game, they certainly have the depth to do so with the likes of Nick Herbig, Preston Smith and Jeremiah Moon. It’ll be interesting to see how the Steelers handle Watt Saturday.
As the best player on the defense, and arguably the best defensive player in the league, you want that guy on the field as much as possible. That’s what Watt wants, but it will be interesting to see if the Steelers are somewhat cautious early in the game in an effort to make sure Watt is available for those weighty moments in the fourth quarter of the pivotal AFC North showdown.
