The Steelers experienced a bit of a scare Sunday, two weeks before their first game of the 2022 NFL season.
T.J. Watt was dinged up in the second quarter of Pittsburgh’s preseason finale against Detroit at Heinz Field. Watt was trying to close in on Lions running back Jemar Jefferson when he was hit with a low block from tight end T.J. Hockenson. The reigning Defensive Player of the Year needed a moment to gather himself and stayed in for a few more plays before he was removed from the contest.
Watt and the Steelers appear to have dodged a bullet, as the ailment does not appear to be a serious one. That didn’t stop 12th-year pro Cameron Heyward from posing a question to the NFL, though.
“We’ve done a lot for the offensive players. Where’s the help on defense?” Heyward told reporters, per Pro Football Talk.
Watt’s injury scare came exactly a week after an eerily similar sequence involving Kayvon Thibodeaux, the fifth overall pick in this year’s draft. A low block from Cincinnati Bengals tight end Thaddeus Moss left Thibodeaux with a sprained MCL, which puts the New York Giants rookie’s Week 1 status in jeopardy.
Low blocks are legal and will remain as such throughout the upcoming NFL season. But the frequency of injuries to defensive players should prompt the powers that be to possibly consider a rule change.
