The Pittsburgh Steelers opened their account on Sunday night with a big win over Joe Burrow and rivals the Cincinnati Bengals, 23-20. It came at quite a cost, though, with reigning Defensive Player of the Year T.J. Watt going down with what is suspected to be a torn pectoral muscle.
Watt took himself out of the game following a botched sack attempt on Burrow, and the Steelers star looked like he was in considerable pain. The silver lining here is that it's possible that contrary to initial reports, Watt may NOT have torn his pec on the play. Nevertheless, the three-time All-Pro linebacker is still set to spend significant time on the shelf (h/t CBS Sports Network on Twitter):
“There is some optimism in Pittsburgh for T.J. Watt,” Jones stated. “I know that lip readers saw him say he tore his pec Sunday, but that may not have been right. He's going to seek some other opinions. No doubt he will be out at least a month. Look for Malik Reed to take his snaps opposite Alex Highsmith at the outside linebacker position.”
This report is a bit of a mixed bag for both Watt and the Steelers. Pittsburgh is now expected to be without their star OLB for at least the next four weeks, and perhaps even longer. However, if further reports prove that the injury isn't as bad as initially presumed, then Watt should be back in the mix sooner rather than later.
Unfortunately, the worst-case scenario for T.J. Watt here is that if he undergoes surgery, it's likely that he will be forced to sit out the entire season. That, without a doubt, will be a terribly brutal blow for Pittsburgh.
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