With their season on the line, the Pittsburgh Steelers could get their former NFL defensive player of the year back Sunday night for a winner-take-all game against the Baltimore Ravens.
Coach Mike Tomlin said Tuesday that outside linebacker T.J. Watt could return from a three-game absence due to a partially punctured lung.
Watt practiced on a limited basis last week and could increase his participation in the three practice sessions the Steelers (9-7) have before they face the Ravens (8-8) on Sunday night at Acrisure Stadium. The winner clinches the AFC North title and the conference’s No. 4 seed. The loser will have its season end.
“I am more optimistic about this week than I have been in previous weeks,” Tomlin said at his weekly press conference.
The Steelers overcame Watt’s absence with back-to-back wins against Miami and Detroit, but they stumbled to a 13-6 loss against the 3-12 Cleveland Browns, denying them a chance to clinch the division title. The Steelers have used Nick Herbig and Jack Sawyer to fill in for Watt.
“We want to be cautious about how we work him back into the fold,” Tomlin said. “Certainly, he’s done appropriate things in that area as well.”
Tomlin admitted he would like to see Watt take part in more than one practice to gauge the outside linebacker’s health and readiness to dress against the Ravens.
“Practice participation would be more comforting in terms of making a decision given he’s coming back from a medical circumstance,” Tomlin said.
Tomlin, though, doesn’t think Watt needs time to round back into so-called football shape in spite of the reps he has missed on the practice field the past three weeks. Watt famously started the season opener in 2021 after missing much of training camp as a “hold-in” while awaiting a new contract. He won the defensive player of the year award that season after he tied the NFL’s single-season sacks record.
“I doubt that T.J. is ever out of football shape or conditioning over the course of a 12-month calendar,” Tomlin said. “I just know how he lives his life and how he prepares and how thoughtful he is in terms of what he puts in his body and how he trains. And so I don’t imagine that component being a major concern.”
Watt had his lung partially punctured during a dry-needling session. It required a hospital stay and a procedure to repair the puncture in Watt’s lung.
Before his injury, Watt had played 82% of the Steelers’ defensive snaps. He remains second on the team with seven sacks, trailing fellow outside linebacker Alex Highsmith, who has 8.5. Watt also has seven passes defensed, tops among non-defensive backs, and he also is tied for the team lead with 18 quarterback hits.
Tomlin wouldn’t rule out Watt playing reduced snaps in his return.
“I’m open to using him in any way that is appropriate relative to his availability,” he said.
The only player that Tomlin ruled out from playing Sunday was tight end Darnell Washington, who had surgery to repair a broken bone in his arm. Washington was injured in the first half against the Browns and left after playing just nine snaps.
In his third NFL season, Washington played a career-high 57% of the defensive snaps and became more than just a prolific blocker. He totaled 31 catches for 357 yards and one touchdown, establishing career bests in targets (43) as well as receptions and yards.
Washington’s absence could provide more playing time for Pat Freiermuth and Jonnu Smith, who served different roles than Washington in the Steelers offense.
“We use a lot of tight ends,” Tomlin said. “We also use guys at the tight end position that don’t play tight end, (guard) Spencer Anderson. We have a lot of options at our disposal relative to that from a strategy perspective. And given six or seven days to prepare, I don’t think it will be a strategic issue in terms of replacing his efforts.”
Tomlin said other recently injured Steelers players could return to face Baltimore. Those include wide receiver Calvin Austin (hamstring), cornerback Brandin Echols (groin), cornerback James Pierre (calf), left guard Isaac Seumalo (triceps) and inside linebacker Malik Harrison (bone bruise).
All but Harrison missed the game in Cleveland.