Mike Tomlin ‘Optimistic’ T.J. Watt and Damontae Kazee Will Play vs. Saints

PITTSBURGH — Mike Tomlin is optimistic that both Damontae Kazee and T.J. Watt will return against the New Orleans Saints on Sunday.

Kazee went on injured reserve prior to Week 1 after shattering his forearm, which required nine screws into his arm. He must be activated by November 10th in order to play again this season.

Watt went on injured reserve after the team’s victory over the Cincinnati Bengals. He suffered a torn pectoral muscle and then had knee surgery while on injured reserve. Watt was close to playing against the Philadelphia Eagles, but it seems the Steelers anticipate his return to come against the Saints.

“We have a couple of guys working back off IR in T.J. and Kazee,” Tomlin said. “Both guys have participants in practice and like the others who are managing their injury circumstances, we’ll continue to monitor those guys. We’ve been optimistic about their inclusion this week, but again, we’ve got some work ahead of us.”

It seems that the possibility Kazee and Watt playing is growing by the day. Many of the players in the locker room seem convinced that both will return against the Saints. It would give a banged-up defense some much-needed life after they limped to the bye week.