Report: T.J. Watt avoids surgery, expected to miss 6 weeks

As the speculation of the extent of the injury to the NFL defending Defensive Player of the year T.J. Watt grew more encouraging over the last 48 hours, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that the doctors involved with Watt’s additional opinions and checkups on his pectoral muscle believe surgery is not required.

In his normal Tuesday Press conference, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin seemed encouraged about the prognosis when it came to T.J. Watt’s injury.

In his first game of the 2022 season, T.J. Watt was part of the Steelers dynamic defense which led to a Steelers victory. Watt had six tackles on the day along with one sack. Watt also had three tackles for loss, two passes defensed, and one of the four interceptions of Bengal’s quarterback Joe Burrow on the day.

Although the timeline for Watt’s return could vary based on his rehabilitation, the fact he may return for the second half of the season is encouraging. The Steelers have seven more games in the month of September and October before their bye the first week of November. Whether or not Watt returns before the Steelers’ week off, or if he lands on the Reserve/Injured List in order to gain a roster spot, remains to be seen. If Watt is placed on the list this week, the earliest he could return would be Week 6 when the Steelers host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Even though surgery appears to not be on the horizon at this time, there is always the possibility the rehabilitation process could make a turn in the wrong direction. But for now, even though he is scheduled to miss multiple games, having T.J. Watt for a portion of the 2022 NFL season is much more encouraging than originally believed.

Stay tuned to Behind The Steel Curtain for continued coverage as the Pittsburgh Steelers prepare to take on the New England Patriots in their home opener of the 2022 season at Acrisure Stadium this Sunday at 1 PM.