TJ Watt is battling injury as the 2024 NFL season winds down to just three regular season games remaining.
JJ Watt and TJ Watt both know a thing or two about being one of the most celebrated record-chasing pass rushers in the NFL. However, they both also know about the brutally painful nature of working in the sport.
Both the Houston Texans and Pittsburgh Steelers pass rushers have dealt with injuries in their careers. In the end, it usually boils down to waiting for the injury to heal and rehabbing to get it back up to strength.
However, what happens when a player doesn’t have time like Patrick Mahomes? That’s one of the most consistent questions NFL players and coaches ask themselves.
Well, Pittsburgh Steelers star TJ Watt is likely asking himself the same thing.
JJ Watt on TJ Watt
Speaking on a December 18 edition of “The Pat McAfee Show,” NFL analyst JJ Watt pointed to the schedule as a big problem for TJ Watt’s recovery.
‘Yeah, he’s got a low ankle sprain. X-rays are negative. It’s one of those things that you just roll it really hard and it’s very painful, very tough to utilize because you’re a pass rusher on the edge, turning the corner on that ankle, specifically putting an insane amount of pressure into it,” he said.
“So when you add that with the fact that they’re playing the three games in 11 days, it is very difficult. But he is walking around better and feeling better than I think you would initially think the next day. So who knows? I know him. I know he’s a competitor.
“I know he’s going to want to be out there. I know he’s going to do everything it takes to be out there. So we’re going to see what happens. But there’s no question that the three games in 11 days is nuts and very difficult for a situation like this, which Mahomes is also facing in Kansas City,” he added.
The NFL calendar is in its final stretch with games on Monday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday, and even Wednesday. The Steelers will face the Chiefs on Christmas on Netflix this year, which falls on a Wednesday.
Upcoming gauntlet making TJ Watt’s job even tougher
The Steelers, like the Chiefs, have far from a cakewalk to end the year. First, they face the Baltimore Ravens in one of the toughest perennial matchups for the Steelers. Then, they face the Super Bowl Champions on the shortest stretch between games all season.
After that, they face the Cincinnati Bengals in a divisional showdown much more difficult than the record would claim. If Watt were to take only a week off to heal, he would miss both the game against the Ravens and Steelers. Is that a risk Mike Tomlin is willing to take?
