Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt will miss Monday night’s game against the Dolphins.
Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin told reporters on Friday that Watt will not play in the Week 15 game. Tomlin also confirmed that Watt had a medical procedure.
“He’s been released from the hospital,” Tomlin said, via Brooke Pryor of ESPN.com. “He’s at home resting comfortably. And so that’s good news from a medical standpoint, but from a participation standpoint, he’ll be described as out this week for Monday night.”
Tomlin limited the characterization of Watt’s status to the next game only.
“I haven’t looked beyond Monday night,” Tomlin said. “I’m kind of one week at a time. I know he’s not participating this week.”
Tomlin otherwise had no details on the situation, and he deferred to the news from J.J. Watt, T.J.'s brother, that T.J. suffered a partially collapsed lung as a result of a dry needling treatment at the team’s facility.
Ultimately, Tomlin was pragmatic about the situation, as it relates to the level of concern he has for the apparent in-house snafu that will keep one of his best players off the field.
“It’s day-to-day life in this business at this level,” Tomlin said.
Is it, though? Injuries are normal product of practicing and playing football. This is a distinctly abnormal outcome to an apparently routine treatment procedure, with plenty of lingering questions as to how it happened and who’s to blame for it.
