Could T.J. Watt Play In AFC North-Clinching Week 17 Game?

The Pittsburgh Steelers have been without future Hall of Famer T.J. Watt for two weeks since he went down with a bizarre injury.

Wednesday afternoon was a celebrated sight as the five-time team captain returned to practice for the first time since puncturing his lung.

Head coach Mike Tomlin was unable to say whether or not Watt would be made available on Sunday.

“That’s a fair estimation, but again, I’ll let him speak in terms of his medical,” Tomlin said. “I think for me, to talk about injury is one thing. To talk about medical is something else. And so that’s one of the reasons why I’ve been a little bit hesitant, besides my lack of expertise on the subject matter.”

Future Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers didn’t offer any clues, either.

“T.J.’s one of our leaders, so I love having him around,” Rodgers said. “Not sure what his status is going to be, but just his presence is good for our team.”

When it comes to his own practice participation, reports indicate that Watt was being very particular about which activities he partook in.

He avoided explosive movements. He did not participate in many of the pass-rush drills or tackling circuits; instead, he doubled down on conditioning during these periods.

His pass-rushing counterpart, Alex Highsmith, said that, regardless of the limitation, it was nice to have the captain back out there.

“It’s awesome to have him out there,” Highsmith said. “Just seeing him back out in the field with us, he’s getting better every single day, so I think just to have him back out there, just as a leader for our group, it’s just awesome to see. Excited to see how he continues to work his way back.”

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