Pittsburgh Steelers fans feared T.J. Watt would be out for the season following a pectoral injury suffered vs the Bengals, but that might not be the case.
Don’t count T.J. Watt out just yet. After it was confirmed that the Pittsburgh Steelers star suffered a pectoral injury during the team’s Week 1 game against the Cincinnati Bengals, fans feared the worst. More often than not, pectoral injuries require surgery that typically proves to be season-ending. However, that isn’t guaranteed to be the case for Watt.
After recording 3 tackles for a loss, a sack, and an interception, we were all incredibly disappointed to see Watt leave the game with an injury. He’s the engine that keeps this team running and is obviously critical to the success of the Steelers. Fortunately, not all news is bad.
On Monday afternoon, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that Watt would be seeking a second and third opinion about his torn pec on Tuesday. Ian Rapoport also seemed to be optimistic about Watt’s chances of coming back this year on the Pat McAfee Show.
Steelers’ Defensive Player of the Year TJ Watt will get second and third medical opinions about his torn pec Tuesday, per sources. If doctors determine that Watt needs surgery, his season likely would be over; if he doesn’t need surgery, he could possibly return in six weeks.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 12, 2022
The fact that Watt even has options at this point is incredibly encouraging. Most of the time, teams would confirm the day after the game that an injury requires surgery and the player will miss ‘X’ amount of time. Not hearing this is good news, and there are a few options that Rapoport pointed out.
When will T.J. Watt return for the Steelers?
T.J. Watt is going to miss significant time — this is very clear at this point. It was confirmed that Watt does have a pectoral tear of some kind and that he won’t be ready to go right away.
The good news is that he does have options. One of those options could potentially be coming back in just a matter of weeks. After seeking his second and third opinions on his pectoral injury, if doctors confirm that it is just a muscle tear and no ligament damage, Watt could opt for rehab. This would mean that he could be ready to step back onto the field as soon as late October.
The other option is a bit less encouraging. If Watt elects to undergo surgery to repair his pec, it’s possible that he could miss the remainder of the season. However, that’s not guaranteed to be the case. His brother J.J. underwent the same surgery in 2019 and returned after two months.
If Watt does decide to go the surgery route and doesn’t hang up his cleats for the remainder of the year, we could be looking at a late December timetable for his return. Assuming the Pittsburgh Steelers are still in the hunt at this point, Watt could potentially be fully rehabbed and back in the lineup for the final exhibition games and, hopefully, a playoff berth.
Regardless of the news he hears over the next day, this is not going to be an easy decision to make. We want T.J. Watt back on the field as soon as possible, but we also understand that his health comes first. Let’s hope we continue to hear optimistic news very soon.