Watt unsure of countering cut blocks
Star linebacker left game after low, legal hit
Reigning NFL defensive player of the year T.J. Watt was healthy and practicing Wednesday and would have kept playing in Sunday’s game if he had been injured in a regular-season contest.
But he’s not sure how the league and its defensive players can counter low blocks by offensive players.
Watt found himself on the receiving end of a cut-block by Lions tight end T.J. Hockenson in the first half of the preseason finale, and the blow ended his day early.
“Those blocks are always tough to deal with,” Watt said Wednesday after practice. “It is a legal block, so I can’t be too upset, but it is one of those things where I honestly don’t know what I can do differently in that situation.”
Watt foresaw the collision, made eye contact with Hockenson and was ready to make real contact on the edge. Instead, at the last second, as he ducked his head, he saw Hockenson go low.
Afterward, Watt said, Hockenson apologized and told him he had to do it. Watt didn’t have much to say back in the moment because it was “more frustration than anything” for the 2021 NFL sack leader.
“Obviously, it’s being taught because it’s a legal move,” Watt said, “so I don’t really have any grudge against it. I just have to figure out how to handle it better.”
Watt added he doesn’t want to get “too in the weeds” about what should and shouldn’t be allowed in the game, but he’d heard a little of the chatter around a similar play the previous week, when Giants firstround pick Kayvon Thibodeaux sustained a sprained MCL on a low block by Bengals tight end Thaddeus Moss.
He didn’t even want to watch the play because he doesn’t like seeing others get injured, but Watt felt it firsthand Sunday.
“I think it was just one of those things where the knee just got a little uncomfortable afterward,” Watt said. “Didn’t feel truly 100%, so I didn’t want to chance anything.
“I mean, I love this game. I’ll never short-change the game, whether it’s a preseason or regular-season game, so when the switch is flipped on, I don’t really care if it’s preseason or not. You’re just playing football.”
Davis aims to fit in
One day after the Steelers traded for him, veteran offensive lineman Jesse Davis worked at right tackle and right guard. He was surprised to be dealt by the Vikings, who signed him in late March, but expressed excitement to be with the Steelers.
“Wherever this organization needs me, that’s where I’ll be,” Davis said.
But in his first news conference with the Vikings in late April, Davis called playing on the left side “a little more challenging for me than the right was” over his five seasons with the Dolphins. Davis has more than 4,000 career snaps between right guard and right tackle but fewer than 700 between left guard and tackle, per Pro Football Focus.
When it comes to the struggling offensive line, the Steelers are most experienced on the right side with tackle Chuks Okorafor and guard James Daniels, which makes it a bit of a headscratcher for them to acquire Davis, even if they gave up nothing more than a conditional seventh-round draft choice in 2025.
“I think he’s been experienced enough that he’s capable of learning multiple positions as he gets exposed to our system of offense,” coach Mike Tomlin said after practice Wednesday.
Practice squad forms
The Steelers made eight initial signings to the practice squad Wednesday, all of whom were players cut Tuesday. Running back Anthony McFarland, receiver Cody White, center Ryan McCollum, guard William Dunkle, guard/tackle John Leglue, defensive tackle Carlos Davis, outside linebacker Hamilcar Rashed and defensive back Elijah Riley awere added back after clearing waivers.
Like last year, teams are allowed to keep 16 players on the practice squad and as many as six can be veterans of any experience level.
Layne change
One day after he was cut by the Steelers, cornerback Justin Layne was claimed on waivers by the Giants. Layne, a 2019 third-round pick, will be on the active roster in New York.
Layne was relegated to third-string duty by the end of his time with the Steelers and was mostly a specialteams player his first three seasons.
No other players waived Tuesday by the Steelers were claimed Wednesday, but this year’s last draft pick — seventh-round quarterback Chris Oladokun — has signed with Kansas City. The Chiefs put him on their practice squad, for which he’s eligible because the Steelers waived him last week.