Steelers' T.J. Watt: Officially limited to open Week 17
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Watt (chest) was a limited participant in Wednesday's practice, Brooke Pryor of ESPN.com reports.
Watt missed the Steelers' last two games while recovering from a procedure to repair a partially collapsed lung. The veteran pass rusher was able to log a limited practice to open the week, and he would likely avoid an injury designation for Sunday's AFC North tilt against the Browns if he were to fully practice by Friday. His return would likely result in rookie Jack Sawyer reverting to a rotational role behind Watt and Alex Highsmith.
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Steelers' T.J. Watt: Back at practice
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Watt (lung) was spotted participating in Wednesday's practice, Alan Saunders of SteelersNow.com reports.
The 31-year-old missed the Steelers' Week 16 win over the Lions while recovering from a partially collapsed lung, but he's already returned to the field Wednesday. In 13 appearances this season, Watt has tallied 53 total tackles, including 7.0 sacks, seven passes defensed, with an interception, and three forced fumbles. The All-Pro edge rusher likely needs to practice in full Thursday or Friday in order to avoid an injury designation in the Week 17 matchup against the Browns.
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Steelers' T.J. Watt: Potential participation in Week 17
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Coach Mike Tomlin has no new updates on Watt (lung), but implied there may be participation in the early parts of Week 17, Mary Kay Cabot of The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.
Watt has seemed to be solely focused on recovering from his partially collapsed lung, but Tomlin's comments today implied that the coaching staff is aware of the outside linebacker's progress and that he might have a chance to participate in practice this week. If the Steelers can take the win over the Browns on Sunday, they would clinch the AFC North, and Watt would have a stress-free Week 18 to further recover before Wild Card Weekend.
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Steelers' T.J. Watt: Return date murky
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Watt (lung) is focusing on getting healthy, and a date for him to return to action is uncertain, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.
Schefter indicates that Watt's focus is simply on recovering from his partially collapsed lung, with a return to play currently a secondary concern. The star linebacker has already been ruled out for Sunday's Week 16 game against Detroit, and it's not clear if he even has a chance to play in Week 17 against Cleveland. Watt would need to get medical clearance for him to return against the Browns, though Schefter suggests that "ideally Watt gets more time to recover" from the lung injury.
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Steelers' T.J. Watt: No practice Thursday
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Watt (chest) did not practice Thursday, Brooke Pryor of ESPN.com reports.
Watt remains sidelined at practice as he continues his recovery from surgery to address a collapsed lung. He missed Monday's win over the Dolphins and appears unlikely to retake the field in time for Sunday's road matchup against the Lions.
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Steelers' T.J. Watt: Misses practice Wednesday
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Watt (lung) did not practice Wednesday.
Watt is still recovering from surgery to address a collapsed lung last week. With Watt missing this past Monday night's win over the Dolphins, Alex Highsmith, Nick Herbig (hamstring) and Jack Sawyer paced the edge rushers in playing time for the Steelers.
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Steelers' T.J. Watt: Looking unlikely for Monday
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Watt had a tiny hole in his lung repaired after being taken to a hospital Thursday and appears "unlikely" to play Monday against the Dolphins, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports.
According to Pelissero, the lung issue isn't viewed as a long-term concern, but Watt will need to rest up and recuperate from the recent operation before being cleared to return to game action. Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said Thursday that Watt was "comfortable" after getting the lung issue addressed, but noted that the star edge rusher's status for Monday's game was "up in the air." However, unless Watt returns to practice by Saturday, he would seem to be a long shot to play Monday. If Watt ends up missing his first game of the season, Nick Herbig would likely move into a starting role at outside linebacker in his stead.
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Steelers' T.J. Watt: Dealing with toe injury
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Watt (toe) did not practice Wednesday, Brooke Pryor of ESPN.com reports.
Watt played his normal allotment of snaps in last Sunday's loss to the Bills, recording four tackles on 82 percent of the defensive downs. It's unclear when he picked up the toe issue. On the season, Watt has logged 47 tackles (18 solo), including 7.0 sacks, 17 QB hits, seven pass breakups, including one interception, three forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries across 12 contests.
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Steelers' T.J. Watt: Sacks Herbert in Week 10 loss
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Watt recorded three tackles (two solo), including 1.0 sacks, and one pass defense during the Steelers' 25-10 loss to the Chargers on Sunday.
Watt was responsible for the Steelers' fifth and final sack of the game in the fourth quarter, when he took down Justin Herbert for a three-yard loss that caused the Chargers to punt on the next play. Watt has recorded at least 0.5 sacks in six of his last seven games, and his 6.0 sacks (through nine regular-season games) leads the Steelers and is tied for 15th most in the NFL.
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Steelers' T.J. Watt: Productive versus Green Bay
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Watt recorded six tackles (two tackles) in Pittsburgh's loss versus the Packers on Sunday.
Watt had a bounceback performance after having logged just one tackle in the team's Week 7 loss to Cincinnati. The 31-year-old has registered just 4.0 sacks this season, which is well short of his typical output, but he'll look to be more productive during the second half of the season.
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Steelers' T.J. Watt: Minimal impact in Week 7 loss
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Watt recorded 0.5 sacks in Thursday's 33-31 loss to the Bengals.
The Steelers didn't get much pressure on Joe Flacco throughout the game, and Watt had an underwhelming performance. He did manage a key sack in conjunction with Cameron Heyward, late in the fourth quarter to force a Bengals punt two plays later. Watt has 4.0 sacks on the season, all of which have come in his last four contests.
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Steelers' T.J. Watt: Ends sack drought in Week 3 win
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Watt recorded five tackles (two solo), including 2.0 sacks, along with a forced fumble and a fumble recovery in the Steelers' win over the Patriots on Sunday.
Watt's pair of sacks ended Watt's five-game regular-season sack drought, dating back to last season. Through three games in 2025, Watt has 14 tackles (seven solo), including the 2.0 sacks and one pass breakup in addition to the forced fumble and fumble recovery. Watt will look to build on the Week 3 performance Sunday against the Vikings in Dublin.
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Steelers' T.J. Watt: Expected to skip minicamp
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Watt is expected to skip Pittsburgh's mandatory minicamp as he seeks a contract extension, Alan Saunders of SteelersNow.com reports.
Watt was not present for voluntary OTAs either, but the latest absence signals he could be willing to incur fines in order to keep some leverage in his contract dispute with the Steelers. He was tied for eighth in the league in sacks (11.5) last season, suggesting he still has gas in the tank despite being set to turn 31 in October. As long as he's not on the field, Alex Highsmith and 2023 fourth-rounder Nick Herbig project for first-team reps at outside linebacker.
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Steelers' T.J. Watt: Hopeful about playing at Baltimore
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Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said Monday that he is "optimistic" about Watt's (ankle) chances of playing Saturday against the Ravens, Mike DeFabo of The Athletic reports.
Watt suffered a left low-ankle sprain during Sunday's loss at Philadelphia, but Tomlin's comments suggest the Steelers aren't too concerned about the star linebacker's availability for a Week 16 matchup that could have important implications on playoff seeding in the AFC. His name will be one to keep an eye out for Tuesday, when the Steelers release their first official practice report of the week.
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Steelers' T.J. Watt: Two sacks in shootout victory
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Watt recorded three solo tackles, including 2.0 sacks, and a forced fumble in Sunday's 44-38 win over the Bengals.
Watt made his biggest splash of the day in the second quarter, chopping the ball out of Joe Burrow's hand for a strip sack and causing a fumble which was ultimately recovered by teammate Payton Wilson. It was the second time this season that Watt was able to reach multiple sacks in the same game, and he's now up 9.5 sacks on the year. The linebacker has compiled 43 total tackles (31 solo), including the sacks, while adding five forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and three passes defensed over 12 games in 2024.
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Steelers' T.J. Watt: Logs sack in win
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Watt recorded three tackles (three solo), including 1.0 sacks, during the Steelers' win Sunday over the Ravens.
Watt's dominant season continues, as he was one of just two Pittsburgh defenders, alongside Dean Lowry, to sack Lamar Jackson. Watt has now racked up 36 tackles (27 solo), including 7.5 sacks, four forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries throughout his first 10 appearances of the season.
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Steelers' T.J. Watt: Logs eight tackles vs. Dallas
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Watt finished Sunday's 20-17 loss to the Cowboys with eight tackles (seven solo), including 1.5 sacks, and one forced fumble.
With the Cowboys in the red zone, Watt and Nick Herbig combined to sack Dak Prescott on the last play of the first quarter, with Watt forcing the ball out of Prescott's hands, which was jumped on by Herbig. Watt got to Prescott for a second time early in the third quarter, resulting in a seven-yard loss. Watt is now up to 4.5 sacks through the first five games of the regular season, which is ninth-most in the NFL.
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Steelers' T.J. Watt: Logs another sack
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Watt recorded three tackles (three solo), including 1.0 sack, during the Steelers' 20-10 win Sunday versus the Chargers.
Watt brought down Justin Herbert for one of the team's five sacks and now has three total on the season. The one-time Defensive Player of the Year will look to build off this strong performance and increase his sack streak next week against the Colts.
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Steelers' T.J. Watt: Dealing with MCL sprain
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Watt is believed to have suffered a Grade 3 MCL sprain after exiting Saturday's 17-10 win in Baltimore with a left knee injury, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.
Watt departed in the third quarter after banging knees with Steelers defensive lineman Montravius Adams. He was able to make his way to the locker room slowly under his own power, but the team still ruled out Watt not long after that point. After notching two sacks Saturday, Watt will finish with 19 on the season to go along with 68 tackles, eight pass breakups, four forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries and one interception over 17 games. Watt is scheduled to undergo further testing to confirm the Grade 3 sprain, but injuries of this sort often entail multi-week recoveries, making it unlikely that he'll be available for the wild-card round of the playoffs if Pittsburgh is able to secure a playoff berth based on how other Week 18 results shake out.
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Steelers' T.J. Watt: Exits with knee injury Saturday
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Watt won't return to Saturday's game at Baltimore due to a left knee injury, Brooke Pryor of ESPN.com reports.
Watt was on the receiving end of friendly fire in the third quarter as Steelers defensive lineman Montravius Adams collided with the former's knee. After remaining on the turf for multiple minutes and also spending time in the sideline tent, Watt slowly made his way to the locker room with Pittsburgh trainers before the team ruled him out. Prior to his exit, he racked up two sacks to push him to 19 on the campaign, marking the second time he's reached that threshold in his career.
