The Pittsburgh Steelers were thrown a curveball for their Week 15 game versus the Miami Dolphins when it was discovered edge rusher T.J. Watt needed to be hospitalized.
The details of Watt's issue are still a bit murky other than the fact we know it has to do with his lung and he needed to be hospitalized as a result.
On Friday, NFL Network's Tom Pelissero shed more light on what's going on.
Pelissero said Watt's issue is not similar to quarterback Tyrod Taylor's from a few years ago, when Taylor's lung was accidentally punctured by a team doctor.
Instead, Watt noticed an issue on Wednesday and after some tests, it was determined he had "like a tiny hole in his lung," Pelissero said.
Thankfully, Watt had the issue fixed and is now on the mend.
"He was coming in for a lift and just felt like he was having some pain. He actually went through, did his lift, did his workout, then went for his normal treatment. Was still having pain and so they decided to get him checked out," Pelissero said.
"Initially they thought maybe it could be a collarbone issue based on where the pain was, they ruled that out. They then sent him for X-rays on his rib, those came back negative. They did some additional tests that showed a small issue, like a tiny hole in his lung that then needed to be sent to the hospital and fixed. So, at this point, this is not a major issue... Not any type of a major long-term issue for T.J. Watt," Pelissero added
Pelissero went on to add that Watt's status remains up in the air, but he's trending toward not playing in Week 15.
"The issue has been fixed. What he needs now is rest. That's where, while you never rule out a guy like T.J. Watt, it does seem unlikely that he's gonna be available on Monday night," Pelissero said.
As far as what caused that tiny hole, Pelissero did not provide details on that, but the important thing is Watt is OK after what was a scary situation.
On a less important note, not having Watt for what is a crucial game on Monday night will no doubt be a blow, but Pittsburgh is better equipped to hand such an absence better than most teams.
The Steelers have two quality edge rushers outside of Watt in Alex Highsmith and Nick Herbig, both of whom are having strong seasons with 6.5 sacks each.
Highsmith in particular has been on a tear of late, with the veteran EDGE posting five sacks in the last four games.
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