T.J. Watt Injury: Steelers rookie doesn’t believe groin injury is serious

The Pittsburgh Steelers were victorious over the Minnesota Vikings in Week 2 of the 2017 NFL regular season, and as great as that news is, not all news was positive coming out of the Steelers’ camp following the game.

One of the biggest disappointments after the game was the groin injury to rookie linebacker T.J. Watt. After the game, Mike Tomlin was vague about the injury, but when Jeremy Fowler of ESPN talked to Watt following the game, the rookie said he doesn’t feel the injury is serious.

“T.J. Watt said he doesn't expect his groin injury to be serious and isn't worried about it but will find out more in the next day or so.”

It may just be a player staying positive, or it could be an injury which Watt knows won’t have him shelved for the long-term.

It should be noted the Steelers didn’t rule him out immediately, rather listed him as questionable until the game was out of reach and then listed him as officially out of the contest.

The nature of any muscle strain, or pull, is the risk of re-injury — especially a groin injury. For what Watt has to do on any given snap, he needs to trust his body and not be concerned with re-injuring a muscle like a groin.

With that said, the true test for Watt will be his practice participation this week. If Watt practices, even on a limited basis, on Wednesday, that is a great sign. If he is a full participant Thursday or Friday, it would be a great sign he is ready to play in Week 3 vs. the Chicago Bears.

Stay tuned to BTSC for the latest on this injury, as well as other injury news, as the team prepares for Week 3.