Steelers’ LB T.J. Watt could play in Week 10 against the Saints, per head coach Mike Tomlin.
“We’ve been optimistic about [Watt’s] inclusion this week. But again, we got some work ahead of us and got some reaction to that work, how [he] feel(s) coming off the work. We’ll just continue to monitor […] and make appropriate decisions […] as we get closer to game time,” Tomlin said Wednesday. Watt has been out since Week 1, when he tore a pectoral muscle in his chest.
There are two pectoral muscles: the pectoralis major and the pectoralis minor. The major muscle is the one most commonly referred to as the “pecs,” and is the most frequently injured, while the minor sits beneath it and is less frequently injured. The pectoralis major has two heads – the clavicular and the sternocostal – and connects (inserts) to the humorous just below the shoulder.
If the tendon where the pec inserts had been fully ruptured, Watt would have had to undergo season-ending surgery quickly to regain full arm strength and function. Luckily, the tendon was fine, which opened the door for Watt to return and play this season.
But in early October Watt underwent arthroscopic knee surgery, which delayed his recovery. The surgery cleaned up an injury he suffered during the preseason and extended his recovery timeline by two weeks.
Watt’s recovery is on schedule, but the Steelers should still express caution with him moving forward. Pittsburgh has underperformed this season, and are currently sitting at 2-6 with a 2% chance of making the playoffs.
In fact, they would need to win 8 of their final 9 games to receive a playoff berth. Watt should be slowly introduced back into the defense without putting any pressure on him to perform.
