After three games sidelined while recovering from a partially collapsed lung, Pittsburgh Steelers four-time All-Pro linebacker T.J. Watt is on track to return for the team’s last guaranteed game, he confirmed Friday.
He practiced in a limited fashion last week but did not ultimately return to play in the Steelers’ 13-6 loss to the Cleveland Browns.
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After additional practice participation this week, Watt expects to play, he told reporters.
“I feel pretty good, honestly. Not sure I could’ve said that a week ago, but I feel really good, really confident,” Watt said, per ESPN’s Brooke Pryor. “I’m excited to play.”
The Steelers host the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday night for a de facto AFC North title game. The winner will host a wild-card playoff game, while the loser is eliminated from the postseason race.
Watt has not played since undergoing surgery Dec. 11 to stabilize and repair a partially collapsed lung, his brother J.J. Watt tweeted on Dec. 12 as T.J. Watt was released from the hospital. Watt suffered a partially collapsed lung after a dry needling session at the Steelers’ facility.
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“Didn’t feel right,” T.J. Watt said Friday of the dry needling aftermath. “Shortly afterward, I was in a significant amount of pain and ended up going to the hospital, and as you guys saw, [had] surgery. Recovery was different because it was something I wasn’t used to. I’m very thankful for everybody … taking good care of me and helping guide this process back.
“It’s been very unique. But I feel really good sitting here today.”
[Get more Steelers news: Pittsburgh team feed]
He said Friday he does not have hard feelings toward the organization but also will not be using dry needling in the imminent future.
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“I’m gonna take a break now for sure,” he said, per Pryor.
In the wake of Watt’s partial lung collapse, the American Physical Therapy Association released a statement to educate people about dry needling, its efficacy and its safety. Dry needling is a “skilled intervention that licensed physical therapists may use, where permitted by state law, to address neuromusculoskeletal pain and movement impairments,” the statement said. Practitioners insert a thin, solid needle through the skin “to stimulate underlying myofascial trigger points, muscular and connective tissue.”
Dry needling, which is called “dry” because it does not include an injection of pain medicine or anything else, is often performed in conjunction with methods including exercise and movement-based interventions. Physical therapists differ in how they use dry needling, based on their philosophies and legal guidance of their respective states.
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Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said Tuesday that he was increasingly optimistic that Watt would return this week.
“We’ll work him up throughout the course of the week and let the amount of participation and the quality of participation be our guide in terms of whether or not he’s a participant,” Tomlin said. “Certainly, I am more optimistic this week than I have been in previous weeks as I stand here today.”
Tomlin continued his multiweek emphasis on differentiating between an “injury circumstance” determination and a “medical circumstance,” deeming Watt’s as the latter and thus requiring caution.
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“I’m open to utilizing him in any way that’s appropriate relative to his availability,” Tomlin said. “Practice participation certainly would be more comforting in terms of making a decision, given he’s coming back from a medical circumstance.”
Tomlin said he didn’t imagine Watt’s fitness “being a major concern” given Watt’s year-round consistent commitment to it.
Since the Steelers selected him 30th overall in the 2017 NFL Draft, Watt has earned eight Pro Bowl berths and 2021 AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year honors. Three times, he led the NFL in sacks — with 15 in 2020, 22.5 in 2021 and 19 in 2023. He led the league in forced fumbles in 2019 (eight) and 2024 (six), pacing defenders with tackles for loss in 2020 and 2021 (23, 21 respectively).
In 13 games this season, Watt has recorded 53 tackles, seven sacks, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and an interception.
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“You always want a guy that has T.J.’s ability and the ability to impact the game the way he does,” defensive coordinator Teryl Austin said Thursday. “So, it’ll be great to have him back. You know, in what capacity we’ll find out, really not until Sunday. But it’ll be great to have him back. I would think he’ll only strengthen our group in how we play and all those things.”
