TJ Watt was excluded for the Pittsburgh Steelers’ upcoming playoff game against the Buffalo Bills due to a knee injury. And while he was probably joking, Watt’s older brother, JJ Watt, hinted at the idea of replacing his younger brother for Sunday’s game.
The elder Watt posted the following message and photo on social media shortly after Steelers coach Mike Tomlin ruled out his star passer for Sunday’s game.
“Do you think they would notice?” » wrote JJ Watt, wearing a Steelers uniform.
Many Steelers fans had hoped that JJ Watt would have had a stint with the black and gold before retiring last year. After all, two of the three Watt brothers were teammates in Pittsburgh after former NFL fullback Derek Watt signed with the Steelers in 2020.
JJ Watt, who in turn praised the Steelers and the team’s fans, never played for the team his younger brothers played for. Watt retired after the 2022 season and has since settled into his new role as a CBS Sports NFL analyst. Watt and his wife also became minority investors in Burnley FC football club in May 2023.
Retirement allowed JJ to take a greater interest in TJ’s career. Now 29, middle brother Watt is in contention to win his second Defensive Player of the Year award after recording a league-high 19 sacks during the regular season. Watt, however, will miss Sunday’s game after suffering a knee injury in Pittsburgh’s win over Baltimore in Week 18.
“I think he’s the best defensive player in the game,” JJ recently said of TJ. during an interview with CBS Sports“and I think that’s what he’s going to show again this year, as he’s done many times before. He’s trained extremely hard. He’s extremely disciplined, as he always has been. He is in great shape and it’s going to be a lot of fun watching all his matches this year.
“He’s the best defensive player in the world and I can’t wait for the rest of the world to see him again.”
Even though they won’t have JJ, the Steelers have some capable players who will help fill the TJ void in Buffalo. Among those players are rookie Nick Herbig and veteran Markus Golden. Herbig had a big strip-sack that led to points in Pittsburgh’s Week 17 win at Seattle. Golden picked up his fourth sack of the season in last Sunday’s win at Baltimore.
