On December 14, Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt made his initial public comments regarding his Week 14 head injury and time spent in the NFL concussion protocol. He seemed to be sending a message via the media to supporters and reporters who had suggested Watt shouldn’t have played again against the New England Patriots on December 7.
When asked about his use of smelling salts and a tinted visor following his head injury, Watt responded, “We can break down every little thing that I do.” It’s funny, in my opinion, how some things end up on camera when there are other times when they could be done off camera.
“I won’t go into all the details and start a debate about it,”
Watt passed the NFL’s concussion protocol one day before he disclosed his injury.
On December 14, ESPN’s Brooke Pryor revealed that Alex Highsmith, an edge rusher for the Steelers, had also passed the league’s concussion protocol.
After the team’s Week 14 loss to the Patriots, Watt and Highsmith both signed onto the procedure. However, none of the edge rushers will have an injury classification going into the Week 15 game against the Indianapolis Colts.
On December 16, the Steelers-Colts game will begin at 4:30 p.m. ET.
T.J. Watt Discusses Head Injury from Week 14
During the Patriots game, Watt used smelling salts and switched to a tinted visor, which sparked debate on social media. On December 10, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk discussed the tinted visor that might have been added to Watt’s helmet due to unexpected sensitivity to light.
One sign of a concussion is light sensitivity.
Watt received a lot of questions on December 14, as one might anticipate, and those two discussion points were at the center of them.
The linebacker dismissed the fact that he has worn the tinted visor before against the Patriots. He refused to provide an explanation for his mid-game switch.
Watt told the journalists, “I’m not really going to get into specifics.” “Pregame, I wore a visor. In the practice, I have donned a visor. I’ll just leave it there because it’s nothing new for me.
Watt made it apparent that the NFL examined him for a concussion in the blue medical tent by the sidelines, even though he did not elaborate on the tinted visor or the smelling salts. Watt added that the assessment gave him the all-clear to play again.
The outside linebacker took a knock to his helmet and was evaluated in the medical tent. On the opening play from scrimmage, Patriots running back Ezekiel Elliott’s knee made contact.
Watt claimed that after feeling unwell on December 9, he started the concussion protocol.
Against the Patriots, Highsmith also departed the game in the first half due to an injury. At first, it was said on the Amazon Prime stream that Highsmith was treating a neck injury.
However, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network revealed the next day that Highsmith had enrolled in the concussion protocol.
Alex Highsmith Watt Prepared to Take on the Indianapolis Colts
On December 14, when Watt and Highsmith both passed the concussion protocol, the edge rushers gave their full attention to practice. It is anticipated that both will participate in Week 15.
Naturally, the Steelers are thrilled to hear the news. Despite Pittsburgh’s sixth-place AFC finish and playoff position, the Steelers are unlikely to hold that seed after suffering three straight losses.
As of Week 15, the Colts are 7-6, just like the Steelers. Six teams in the AFC
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