TJ Watt can’t stand being confined to the sidelines anymore.
In the six weeks he was sidelined with a torn left pectoral and minor knee surgery, the Pittsburgh Steelers star linebacker fully realized he was not made to be a coach.
So much so that he hasn’t ruled out being in the game on Sunday when the Steelers (2-5) face the Philadelphia Eagles (6-0), even though head coach Mike Tomlin said it was “highly unlikely” that the NFL’s most valuable defensive player would be in uniform.
Watt was injured in the fourth quarter of the season opener against the Cincinnati Bengals. The 28-year-old footballer was lucky in his bad luck: in several cases, a tear in a pectoral muscle means the end of the injured player’s season.
Watt’s return, whether it happens this week or not, will be a welcome addition to the Steelers’ defensive unit, however, which has struggled to apply pressure to opposing quarterbacks in his absence. After joining Joe Burrow seven times behind his line of scrimmage in that opener, the Steelers defense has generated just five sacks since.