Steelers Now
PITTSBURGH – Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker T.J. Watt missed Wednesday’s practice with a toe injury. The injury was not previously reported.
Perhaps the toe injury played a role in Watt’s disappointing performance in Sunday’s 26-7 loss to the Buffalo Bills.
Sunday’s game was the fifth time this season that Watt has recorded two or fewer pressures, according to Marcus Mosher of FanSided. Watt had just one pressure, which came on a play he was unblocked, per NextGenStats. The Bills were without starting right tackle Spencer Brown, too.
Watt, 31, signed a three-year, $123 million extension that pays him an average of $41 million per season and runs all the way through the 2027 season.
At the time, Pittsburgh was simply paying Watt what he was worth after racking up 129 tackles, 30.5 sacks, 10 forced fumbles, five fumble recoveries, 12 passes defensed and one interception over the past two years.
However, Watt is now on pace to have the worst season of his professional career, outside of his rookie season and 2022 when he was limited to just 10 games due to injury.
There’s still time for Watt to turn things around if he hopes to stick with the Steelers, but Father Time seems to be catching up to one of the best players in the league.
A first-round pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, Watt has recorded 509 tackles, 115 sacks, 36 forced fumbles, 14 fumble recoveries, 57 passes defensed and eight interceptions in his NFL career.
Aaron Becker contributed reporting for this story.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Steelers OLB T.J. Watt Misses Practice with Injury
