Steelers' All-Pro is taking a different approach during OTAs
T.J. Watt is the heart and soul not only of the Pittsburgh Steelers' defense but of the entire team. A blue-chip talent with a blue-collar work ethic, when Watt suffered his pec injury last year, the team was hardly recognizable. And while Watt has accepted that the injury was unpreventable, he's doing everything possible to […]
T.J. Watt is the heart and soul not only of the Pittsburgh Steelers' defense but of the entire team.
A blue-chip talent with a blue-collar work ethic, when Watt suffered his pec injury last year, the team was hardly recognizable.
And while Watt has accepted that the injury was unpreventable, he's doing everything possible to make sure he plays every game in 2023:
In a recent interview with The Athletic, three-time All-Pro and former defensive player of the year T.J. Watt sat down with Mark Kaboly to discuss what happened in 2022, and the steps (if any) he can take to prevent it from happening again:
“I have talked to so many different people, and there was absolutely nothing I could have done in the offseason or working out to stop what happened to my pec,” Watt told The Athletic. “You have to continue to tell yourself that it was just a freak injury.”
And that it was. A routine burst around the edge, Watt's arm got caught up and extended backward, overstretching his pectoral and creating a partial tear in the fascia. Watt would go on to miss the next seven games, proving invaluable to the Steelers as they went 1-6 before the bye week and his impending return.
But just because Watt has accepted the fate of the injury, it doesn't mean he will be stubbornly approaching his training philosophy. The decorated defender could easily adopt the "if it's not broke, don't fix it" mantra, but instead, he's learning to adapt:
“I am not training as I was when I was 22, I will tell you that,” Watt said. “It makes no sense now. What I have learned is as you get older, you are always evolving. No offseason is the same. You are always evolving and learning about your body, and as I get older, that’s how I have approached every offseason, and this one was a little different than the others.”
Watt got together with his trainer and came up with a plan to get a 28-year-old — not a 23-year-old — into football shape, wrote Kaboly. That includes ramping up more slowly, with a focus on flexibility and mobility early on, rather than just jumping right into maniacal heavy lifting sessions.
Still very young and just approaching his prime, Watt has the chance to set records at the franchise and maybe even league level. In order to do that, he has to be on the field. Watt knows that better than most, and if history has shown us anything, his next step may be his best yet.
Featured image via: © Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
