Despite coming off their bye week, the Pittsburgh Steelers have several injuries to monitor ahead of Sunday’s game against the Rams. The team’s most significant injury news is outside linebacker T.J. Watt’s heel injury, which kept him out of Thursday’s practice.
Watt didn’t practice on Thursday after doing so on Wednesday. Adding to the concerns is the fact that rookie outside linebacker Nick Herbig, who serves as a backup to Alex Highsmith, was limited on Thursday with a quad injury. This leaves Highsmith and backup Markus Golden as Pittsburgh’s only healthy outside linebackers.
If Watt didn’t face the Rams, it would be a significant loss for the Steelers, as their record has been notably less impressive in games without him. In fact, they hold a 1-10 record in games where Watt, the 2021 Defensive Player of the Year, hasn’t played. Last season, Pittsburgh went 1-6 in games Watt missed, while they boasted an 8-2 record when he was in the lineup.
Watt’s impact on the field is undeniable as one of the NFL’s most influential defensive players. The five-time Pro Bowler and three-time All-Pro led the NFL in sacks in 2020 and 2021. He currently leads the league with eight sacks through six weeks. At the age of 29, Watt has an impressive track record with six career interceptions, 25 forced fumbles, and ten fumble recoveries. He and Highsmith both scored touchdowns in Pittsburgh’s first victory of the season, a Week 2 win over the Browns.
In addition to Watt, left tackle Dan Moore Jr. and tight end Pat Freiermuth were also notable names on Pittsburgh’s injury report on Thursday. Moore fully participated after being inactive for the Steelers’ Week 5 win over Baltimore due to a knee injury. Freiermuth, who was also inactive against the Ravens, was limited during Thursday’s practice as he continues to work through a hamstring injury.
The Steelers are expected to have former Pro Bowl wide receiver Diontae Johnson back for Sunday’s game against the Rams. Johnson, who has been a full practice participant for the past two days, hasn’t played since injuring his hamstring during the Steelers’ season-opening loss to the 49ers.
