It's Time for Steelers to Shut Down T.J. Watt's Season

It's time for the Pittsburgh Steelers to let T.J. Watt get healthy.

The annual Pittsburgh Steelers versus Baltimore Ravens game at Acrisure Stadium played out just like we thought it would. It was ugly, low-scoring and came down to the final minutes. Unfortunately, Pittsburgh came up on the losing end of the battle, and the loss almost assuredly ends their already slim playoff chances this season. According to FiveThirtyEight, the Steelers had a 7% chance of sneaking into the postseason before the game, but after suffering defeat, the squad's chances shrank down to 0.4%. 

This effectively opens the door to a separate but necessary conversion surrounding the best player on the team, T.J. Watt. 

Midway through the opening game of the season, Watt was forced to remove himself from the game after tearing his pectoral muscle. The injury, of course, would sideline the 2021 NFL Defensive Player of the Year for a total of nine weeks. Watt worked tirelessly to get back on to the field and begin helping his teammates, an admirable effort to assist a Steelers defense that really struggled in his absence. 

The pec injury isn't the only ailment that the superstar edge rusher has been dealing with this season. While he was recovering from the injury he suffered in Cincinnati, Watt also reportedly had arthroscopic knee surgery. It seemed like a relatively minor procedure, but it's notable nonetheless in such a frustrating year.

In his third game back from his return, Watt found himself dealing with yet another injury, this time to his rib area. The incident took place in the Steelers' 24-17 victory over the Indianapolis Colts. While Watt didn't leave the game, you could visibly tell that he was clearly bothered by what happened.

Watt described the injury as more of a "week to week" thing and one that he planned to play through. He made it a point to express that he had no plans on shutting it down in order to get healthy, saying "it's been just one thing after another this year, but I don't want to miss any more games. I'm going to try my best to make it happen each and every week."

And Watt did his best to make it happen. 

Despite being banged up, Watt was able to contribute to the cause on the field in hopes of bringing home a win against the rival team. He grinded out an impressive 54 snaps on defense, meaning he was on the field for 89% of their plays. The four-time Pro Bowler also registered his first solo sack since being inserted back into the starting lineup. Late in the third quarter, Watt was able to get home on a stunt and brought Ravens third-string quarterback Anthony Brown to the grass, forcing Baltimore to punt just a play later.

It's been a valiant effort, but Watt's production has taken a notable hit this season. Watt's pressure rate has dropped from 18.6% in 2021 all the way down to 7.1% in 2022 entering this week, according to Sports Info Solutions. Watt's entire pass-rushing plan revolves around speed and explosiveness, but he seems to be missing that power element that makes him so difficult to block. It's made him a bit more one-dimensional, and that's part of the reason why he's been a lot quieter than Steelers fans are used to seeing.

With the Steelers all but mathematically eliminated, it's time for the team to do the right thing and shut down their best player for the season in order to get fully healthy and avoid further injury. Even at less than 100%, Watt is still a solid contributor that brings energy and impact that go beyond the box score, but the risk of playing him far outweighs the reward. 

Even if the Steelers were somehow able to rally enough magic to make a surprising run, winning all four of their next games would only increase their playoff odds by 7% without taking into account the outcomes of the rest of the teams that are in the hunt for that final wildcard spot.

Watt will obviously offer resistance to the idea of being shut down, but the team must take a long-term view in this situation, and they might need to save the player from himself. Few players are more passionate about their craft than Watt. However, you can make an argument that he's their most important asset on the roster, and having him full tilt for the beginning of the 2023 season will unquestionably do more for the franchise than having him suit up in meaningless games down the stretch this season. 

Credit to Watt for working his tail off to get back onto the field but sometimes it's best to live to fight another day.

When the Steelers still had an outside chance to make some noise, it made sense to play Watt considering he was medically cleared but that time has come and gone. Mike Tomlin, like every NFL head coach, wants to compete each and every year. It's become painfully obvious that 2022 is just not the Steelers' year, though. It's important that the organization realizes this and doesn't turn a bad year into a disastrous future.

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