Superstar linebacker TJ Watt of the Pittsburgh Steelers was flying high into the 2022 NFL season after putting forth an epic campaign the previous year that wound up winning him the league's Defensive Player of the Year award. Unfortunately, during the club's opener on September 11, his follow-up run came to a grueling halt as the sixth-year pro went down in the fourth quarter with a torn pectoral muscle that wound up keeping him in street clothes for nearly two months.
Deemed by many as a “freak” accident, in a recent sit-down with The Athletic's Mark Kaboly Watt broke his silence regarding the ailment, and admitted that even he's still rather perplexed by the situation.
“I have talked to so many different people, and there was absolutely nothing I could have done in the offseason or working out to stop what happened to my pec,” TJ Watt told The Athletic. “You have to continue to tell yourself that it was just a freak injury.”
Interestingly enough, Kaboly would point out in his piece that there is a long track record of players like TJ Watt coming off of a 20-sack season who went on to endure rather harsh setbacks.
“After tying Michael Strahan’s record of 22.5 sacks in 2021, Watt followed suit with those who came before him: Strahan dropped off from 22.5 to 11, Jared Allen from 22 to 12, Mark Gastineau from 22 to 13.5, Justin Houston from 22 to 7.5, Chris Doleman from 21 to 11, Aaron Donald from 20.5 to 12.5, Lawrence Taylor from 20.5 to 12, Derrick Thomas from 20 to 13.5 and DeMarcus Ware from 20 to 11. The only real exceptions are Reggie White (from 21 to 18) and J.J. Watt, who — as the only player with two 20-sack seasons — fits in both categories: He dropped from 20.5 to 10.5, then from 20.5 to 17.5,” Kaboly wrote.
TJ Watt would continue on to share with Kaboly that during his seven-game stint relegated to the sidelines, he had ample time to think things through and, ultimately, came to the realization that despite the questions revolving around his surprise injury, “you realize it’s part of the game,” and that “Once you understand that, it becomes tolerable to deal with.”
Watt looks to be heading into the 2023 season ready to be a full go for his Steelers and believes the team has a ton of potential to significantly improve upon their latest playoff-less campaign that saw them finish with a 9-8 record.
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