Will TJ Watt play in wild-card game? JJ Watt says Steelers LB has Grade 2 MCL sprain
Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt suffered a Grade 2 MCL sprain Saturday during the regular-season finale, according to his brother J.J. Watt.
The eldest Watt brother posted the news on social media Sunday and wrote that "everything else looks pristine." T.J. Watt exited Saturday's game, a 17-10 Steelers victory that kept their postseason hopes alive, after teammate Montravius Adams ran into him in the third quarter. Watt stayed down for some time but walked to the medical tent and then the locker room under his own power. He did not return with a knee injury.
Initial reports said the Steelers feared a Grade 3 sprain, but a Grade 2 will still require multiple weeks of rest and recovery.
Pittsburgh clinched a wild-card spot Sunday with a loss by the Jacksonville Jaguars at the hands of the Tennessee Titans. Watt's status for that game is in jeopardy given the severity of the sprain.
"Obviously disappointed in that. But, you know, there are challenges in the game of football, there are challenges in life. So we'll deal with it, whatever it may be," Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said of Watt's injury.
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With two sacks Saturday, Watt upped his total for the season to a league-leading 19.