One of the biggest question marks the Pittsburgh Steelers have ahead of a crucial AFC North showdown with the Baltimore Ravens is the status of superstar edge rusher T.J. Watt, who is dealing with an ankle injury.
Watt said after the loss to the Philadelphia Eagles that he rolled his ankle in the losing effort, but X-rays came back negative and he was diagnosed with a low-ankle sprain, which was the best-case scenario.
Earlier this week, head coach Mike Tomlin said that he was “optimistic” that Watt would play after seeing him walking around without much of an issue. Then, Watt went from a “DNP” on Tuesday to a limited practice on Wednesday.
T.J. Watt injury update
When asked about his status on Thursday after practice and before the Steelers release their final injury report of the week, Watt didn’t say for sure if he would play, but noted that he feels “pretty good right now.”
“We’ll have to see Saturday, but I feel pretty good right now,” Watt said, per Chris Adamski of TribLive.com.
Adding to the optimism that Watt will suit up, ESPN’s Kimberley A. Martin offered this report on “Get Up”.
“I checked in on this and the expectation, I’m told, is that he will be ready to go,” she said. “(Tuesday) was a light day, it was a walkthrough. He did not practice, but I’m told that he does feel better, and he expects to play, so I’m optimistic about it.”
Steelers beat writer Mark Kaboly tweeted that he believes Watt will play: “My opinion: He is playing,” Kaboly wrote.
It goes without saying how huge it’ll be for the Steelers to have Watt. Pittsburgh is looking to wrap up the AFC North with a win, while a loss would open the door for the Steelers to cough up the division over the final two weeks of the season.
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