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Outside linebacker T.J. Watt is off of the Pittsburgh Steelers' injury report — after being limited on Thursday — and is expected to play on Monday against the Miami Dolphins. However, he notes that he isn't quite 100% from his abdominal injury.
“Pulling a muscle or tearing a muscle isn’t fun, but to be able to kind of take it slowly and have the bye week really helped me a lot with recovery,” Watt said on Saturday, per Dave Bryan of Steelers Depot. “I’m still not where I want to be at all, but if I’m safe enough to be able to go where I’m not going to reinjure myself, I’ll definitely give it a shot on Monday night.”
Watt was a full participant on Friday.
The Steelers are thin at outside linebacker after Anthony Chickillo's placement on the NFL's Commissioner Exempt list after his arrest last weekend. Having Watt is essential to beating the hapless Dolphins on primetime football. Luckily, Watt had the bye week to recover from the injury.
Watt leads the Steelers in sacks with four on the year. He also has 20 combined tackles, 14 quarterback hits and six tackles for loss on the season. A third-year pass-rusher hailing from Wisconsin, the younger brother of the Texans' J.J. Watt is considered to be the motor of Pittsburgh's pass-rush.
Linebacker Mark Barron (hamstring), running back Jaylen Samuels (knee) and rookie linebacker Ulysees Gilbert III (back) are all considered questionable for Monday's contest. The Steelers enter Week 8 with a 2-4 record. As for the Dolphins, they are winless.
