The Pittsburgh Steelers‘ top player may have suffered a very serious injury.
Towards the end of regulation of the Steelers’ Week 1 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals, outside linebacker T.J. Watt suffered a pectoral injury. Not only was he ruled out for the remainder of the game, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that the Steelers believe he suffered a torn pectoral muscle.
Watt is scheduled to undergo scans on Monday to confirm the diagnosis.
“Steelers believe TJ Watt tore his pec and he is scheduled to undergo scans Monday to confirm diagnosis, per source,” says Schefter.
Watt Appears to Say ‘I Tore My Pec’ Following Injury
Watt went down after hitting Burrow. After standing up, he immediately walked to the sidelines while holding his shoulder. The reigning Defensive Player of the Year was seen saying, “I tore my pec,” to trainers as he walked off the field.
Via Ian Rapoport of NFL Network:
“Steelers star TJ Watt just walked to the sidelines pointing his arm and appeared to mouth the words, ‘I tore my pec.’ Hopefully not,” said Rapoport.
Prior to his injury, Watt had a major impact on the game, recording six tackles and a sack.
The four-time All-Pro selection is coming off of a superb 2021 campaign. The 27-year-old ended the year by tying the single-season sack record with 22.5 sacks, in addition to leading the league in tackles for loss (21) and quarterback hits (39).
We’ll await the official diagnosis on Monday, but the initial appearance on Watt’s injury does not look good.
While Watt obviously suffered the most significant injury during the Steelers’ Week 1 victory, there were multiple injuries suffered by Pittsburgh.
Steelers Suffer Multiple Injuries to Key Players
According to head coach Mike Tomlin, running back Najee Harris suffered a foot injury — he had dealt with a Lisfranc fracture during preseason — linebacker Robert Spillane suffered an eye injury and cornerback Levi Wallace is dealing with an ankle ailment.
Via Steelers Depot:
“Per Mike Tomlin: TJ Watt upper body injury. Najee Harris foot Robert Spillane eye Levi Wallace ankle.”
Harris gingerly jogged off the field with a left leg injury towards the end of the Steelers’ win over the Bengals. As Nick Farabugh of Steelers Now noted during the game, Harris never went into the blue medical tent after heading to the sidelines.
“It appeared worse at first, but Harris ran off the field quickly which is always a good sign,” said Farabaugh. “Harris never went into the blue medical tent either and got his left leg re-taped after exiting the game at first.”
As Curt Popejoy of Steelers Wire notes, Harris’ Lisfranc injury to the same foot may have had something to do with his newest ailment.
“Harris got rolled up on and bent backwards on a rush and you could see in the replay his foot took the worst of it,” said Popejoy. “Harris missed much of the preseason with what was later discovered to be a Lisfranc injury to the same foot so there is a possibility this is all part of that.”
We’ll await the official diagnosis for all of the aforementioned players. But the fact that Harris was able to walk off of the field rather quickly is a good sign.
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Steelers Receive Potentially Grim News on T.J. Watt’s Injury: Report