{"id":12385,"date":"2024-12-19T08:31:18","date_gmt":"2024-12-19T08:31:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=12385"},"modified":"2024-12-19T08:31:18","modified_gmt":"2024-12-19T08:31:18","slug":"j-j-watt-gets-honest-about-t-j-watts-ankle-injury-prior-to-steelers-ravens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=12385","title":{"rendered":"J.J. Watt Gets Honest About T.J. Watt\u2019s Ankle Injury Prior to Steelers-Ravens"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/TJ-Watt2-e1734549766471.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" alt=\"Steelers edge rusher T.J. Watt.\" \/><\/p>\n<div id=\"post-featured-container-id\">\n<div id=\"post-featured\" class=\"wp-caption \">\n<div class=\"c-post-image-caption-text\">J.J. Watt provided a realistic expectation for his brother, Pittsburgh Steelers star pass rusher T.J. Watt, against the Baltimore Ravens.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Given the team\u2019s accelerated timeline in Week 16, the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nfl\/pittsburgh-steelers\/\">Pittsburgh Steelers<\/a>\u00a0are just three days away from their integral rematch with the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nfl\/baltimore-ravens\/\">Baltimore Ravens<\/a>, and the status of star pass rusher\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/nfl\/player\/t.j.-watt\">T.J. Watt<\/a>\u00a0should prove paramount after he left Week 15 with a low ankle sprain.<\/p>\n<p>Watt\u2019s older brother, three-time AP Defensive Player of the Year\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pro-football-reference.com\/players\/W\/WattJ.00.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external\">J.J. Watt<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/PatMcAfeeShow\/status\/1869449874170855849\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external\">joined the Pat McAfee Show<\/a>\u00a0to give his assessment of the ankle injury on December 18 \u2014 and the retired superstar spoke candidly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYeah, we got a low ankle sprain there, X-rays negative,\u201d J.J. Watt confirmed, continuing: \u201cIt\u2019s one of those things [where] you just roll it really hard and it\u2019s very painful, very tough to utilize because you\u2019re a pass rusher on the edge, turning the corner on that ankle specifically \u2014 putting an insane amount of pressure into it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo, when you add that with the fact that they\u2019re playing the three games in 11 days or whatever it is, very difficult,\u201d J.J. Watt went on, \u201cbut he is walking around better and feeling better than I think you would initially think.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The older of the two brothers concluded that he knows T.J. Watt is a \u201ccompetitor\u201d who will do whatever it takes to get back onto the field, but did reiterate that \u201cthere\u2019s no question that the three games in 11 days is; A, nuts, and B, very difficult for a situation like this.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>T.J. Watt Headlined Long List of \u2018DNPs\u2019 During Steelers\u2019 First Practice of Week 16<\/h2>\n<p>We\u2019ll have to wait a few more hours to see who practices on December 18, but the first day of Week 16 practices on December 17 yielded several \u201cDNPs\u201d \u2014 or players that \u201cdid not practice\u201d due to rest or injury.<\/p>\n<p>According\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.steelers.com\/team\/injury-report\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external\">to the Steelers\u2019 official injury report<\/a>, T.J. Watt (ankle) was among them. The key edge rusher was one of seven DNPs on Tuesday, along with defensive lineman\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/nfl\/player\/larry-ogunjobi\/\">Larry Ogunjobi<\/a>\u00a0(groin) logging a limited practice.<\/p>\n<p>The other nonparticipants were backup quarterback\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/nfl\/player\/justin-fields\">Justin Fields<\/a>\u00a0(abdominal), star wide receiver\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/nfl\/player\/george-pickens\/\">George Pickens<\/a>\u00a0(hamstring), safety\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/nfl\/player\/deshon-elliott\">DeShon Elliott<\/a>\u00a0(hamstring), cornerback\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/nfl\/player\/donte-jackson\/\">Donte Jackson<\/a>\u00a0(back) and veteran rest days for linebacker\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/nfl\/player\/patrick-queen\/\">Patrick Queen<\/a>\u00a0and defensive lineman\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/nfl\/player\/cameron-heyward\/\">Cameron Heyward<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Obviously, there\u2019s nothing to worry about for the two latter names on the list, but the status of Watt, Pickens, Elliott and Jackson will certainly be important and worth monitoring throughout the week.<\/p>\n<p>Pickens excited the fanbase on December 17 after\u00a0video emerged of the Steelers playmaker\u00a0flying through drills with speed and precision. While Elliott was seen getting some work in on December 18,\u00a0via Penn Live beat reporter Nick Farabaugh.<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-content entry-content\">\n<p>As for Jackson, the veteran cornerback is dealing with a \u201cpinched nerve\u201d in his back.<\/p>\n<h2>Steelers HC Mike Tomlin Was \u2018Optimistic\u2019 About T.J. Watt\u2019s Availability at the Start of Week 16<\/h2>\n<p>Steelers head coach\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nfl\/pittsburgh-steelers\/mike-tomlin-tj-watt-injury-update\/\" target=\"\" rel=\"noopener\">Mike Tomlin made it clear that he has confidence<\/a>\u00a0that Watt will battle his way through this ankle injury on December 16.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ve gotten quality production from our edge people regardless of who\u2019s in the game, and I expect that to continue,\u201d\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=yglwzDB0vuA\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external\">Tomlin said on Monday<\/a>\u00a0of Week 16. \u201cBut I\u2019m also optimistic about the availability of T.J. based on what I\u2019ve seen today.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Tomlin also noted that he \u201cjust saw [Watt] walking around rather comfortably\u201d before his Monday press conference. But did confirm that Watt is \u201cquestionable with his ankle.\u201d Adding: \u201cWe\u2019ll see where the roads lead us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Of course, after hearing J.J. Watt\u2019s assessment, it appears that even if T.J. Watt does suit up on Saturday, he may not be 100%. That\u2019s a scary thought when up against the speed and agility of Ravens superstar quarterback\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/nfl\/player\/lamar-jackson\">Lamar Jackson<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>J.J. Watt provided a realistic expectation for his brother, Pittsburgh Steelers star pass rusher T.J. Watt, against the Baltimore Ravens. Given the team\u2019s accelerated timeline in Week&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":12386,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12385","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hot-news","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>J.J. Watt Gets Honest About T.J. 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