Surprising ‘questionable’ designation for Sunday’s game given to Steelers’ T.J. Watt

Chris Adamski
Friday, Dec. 2, 2022 3:21 p.m. | Friday, Dec. 2, 2022 3:21 p.m.

Shown here playing in the season opener at the Cincinnati Bengals, Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt missed practice time this week because of a rib injury that he says has bothered him for several years now and has left him deemed questionable to play in Sunday’s game at the Atlanta Falcons.

T.J. Watt did not miss a day of practice for the Pittsburgh Steelers this week — but he didn’t participate in a full capacity for any of them, either.

In something of a surprise, Watt via Friday’s league-mandated injury report was deemed as questionable to play in Sunday’s game against the Atlanta Falcons.

“I’ve been dealing with it for a couple years now,” Watt said of a rib injury, “so it’s something I have to get used to. It’s never fun to get the rib shots and all that stuff, but it’s something that I have to deal with and still try to affect the game the best I can.”

Watt played 86% of the Steelers’ defensive snaps during their most recent game Monday at the Indianapolis Colts. He had two tackles, a forced fumble and a QB hit but has been limited to a half of a sack in the three games he’s played since being activated off of the injured reserve list following the Steelers’ idle week last month.

TJ Watt on making plays beyond mere sacks pic.twitter.com/3z2dvjMrLf

— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) December 2, 2022

Spillane returns

Aside from the questionable designations given to Watt and third-down running back Jaylen Warren (hamstring) and that veteran cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon (hamstring) will not play for eighth time in nine games, the Steelers were given a relatively clean bill of health on Sunday’s status report.

Inside linebacker Robert Spillane and special-teamer/No. 5 wide receiver Miles Boykin will return to action after missing the Colts game because of respective oblique injuries. Najee Harris (oblique) will play after leaving that game during the second quarter.

A host of other Steelers who missed some practice time this week were all given the green light to play in Sunday’s 1 p.m. game at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium: safety Minkah Fitzpatrick (ribs), inside linebacker Myles Jack (knee), center Mason Cole (foot) and defensive lineman Larry Ogunjobi (toe).

Defensive lineman Isaiahh Loudermilk missed practices Thursday and Friday while attending to a personal matter, but he was deemed cleared to play Sunday.

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Chris Adamski is a TribLive reporter who has covered primarily the Pittsburgh Steelers since 2014 following two seasons on the Penn State football beat. A Western Pennsylvania native, he joined the Trib in 2012 after spending a decade covering Pittsburgh sports for other outlets. He can be reached at cadamski@triblive.com.