Steelers star Watt nearing return from pec injury

Associated Press

PITTSBURGH — T.J. Watt is watching from the sideline in sweatpants and wearing a headset, trying to keep track of a Pittsburgh Steelers defense that desperately misses his menace and production.

All the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year has learned while spending six weeks recovering from a torn left pectoral and minor knee surgery is that he’s not ready to be a coach and to never take his health or his career for granted.

“It sucks not being able to practice and not being able to play, but when you come back, it makes you cherish it that much more and it makes you want it that much more,” Watt said Friday.

So much, in fact, that Watt isn’t ready to rule himself out when Pittsburgh (2-5) t ravels to unbeaten Philadelphia (6-0) on Sunday, even if head coach Mike Tomlin said it’s “highly unlikely” that one of the league’s best edge rushers will be available.

“I feel encouraged about where I’m at right now,” said Watt, who returned to practice on Wednesday.

Watt didn’t feel that way late in the fourth quarter of the season opener against Cincinnati when he felt a painful twinge on the left side of his chest as he tried to sack Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow. Watt walked off the field clutching himself and telling team physicians “I tore it.”

“I’ve had muscle pulls before,” Watt said. “You feel some sort of pop or snap and you know immediately it’s not good. It was just a matter of how bad it was and it just took us 24-48 hours to figure out the severity of it.”

Fortunately for Watt, an injury that can sometimes be season-ending proved to be only season-altering. That doesn’t mean it’s been easy for Watt to spend more than a month as a well-paid de facto assistant coach while Pittsburgh’s defense has struggled to generate a pass rush without him.

The Steelers took down Burrow seven times in the opener. They’ve managed just five sacks total over the last six games without Watt and barely touched Miami’s Tua Tagoviola last week, registering just one quarterback hit in a 16-10 loss.

“We’ve got to figure out a way to get pressure and we’ve got to finish,” defensive coordinator Teryl Austin said.