Pittsburgh Steelers star T.J. Watt continues to be present at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex, but the star edge rusher did not participate in practice Friday and will miss a second consecutive game as he continues to recover from a lung injury that required hospitalization last week.
Watt was spotted watching practice but on the league-mandated status report was ruled out from playing in Sunday’s game at the Detroit Lions.
Watt’s brother, J.J., has publicly said T.J. underwent surgery last week to address a partially collapsed lung. T.J. Watt has not spoken to media since suffering the ailment during a “dry needling” session at the Steelers’ facility Dec. 10. He spent two subsequent nights at a local hospital.
Coach Mike Tomlin is the only member of the Steelers organization to at all address Watt’s situation, and he has largely remained vague. That continued during a brief address to reporters Friday.
“I’m going to let him talk,” Tomlin said. “You guys see he’s back in the building. I’m just a little bit hesitant to talk about medical; it’s just a little bit different than injury. So my preference is to allow him to speak for himself.”
In Watt’s stead during a win against the Miami Dolphins on Monday, Nick Herbig started at outside linebacker. Herbig, however, suffered a hamstring injury late in the game and did not practice this week until Friday when he was a limited participant. Herbig carries a doubtful designation to play in Detroit, leaving the Steelers with an OLB corps of starter Alex Highsmith, rookie Jack Sawyer, practice-squad call-up DeMarvin Leal and Jeremiah Moon — who was signed off the Carolina Panthers’ practice squad Thursday.
2 Yinzers, 1 snapper
Cal Adomitis has spent countless hours working out at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex going back almost a decade, and many of those more recent sessions were alongside Steelers long snapper Christian Kuntz. Friday, though, was a totally different feeling for Adomitis.
“It’s like a weird fever dream,” he said, “being out there both in a Steelers uniform practicing. So it was definitely a funny day.”
A Pittsburgh native who played for a PIAA championship team at Central Catholic and an ACC championship team at Pitt, Adomitis was signed to the Steelers’ practice squad Friday.
A long snapper who has 58 games of NFL regular-season experience, Adomitis was brought aboard because the Steelers apparently were not certain about the status of Kuntz for Sunday because of a knee injury that popped up Thursday.
Kuntz officially has a questionable designation to play against the Lions.
Adomitis said he was in Arizona on a workout when his agent called and told him to get back to Pittsburgh. He said that terminology for specialists and at his position is generally the same leaguewide.
Adomitis knows that the job is for him to prepare to be ready to play Sunday if needed.
“You’ve got to keep the perspective that that’s kind of the fun in it and just enjoy the process,” he said. “My job doesn’t really change no matter where I am, so I’m ready to go if called. I’m trying to enjoy the ride, enjoy being in the black and gold.”
In the corresponding move Friday, linebacker Kana’i Mauga was released from the practice squad.
