J.J. Watt Won’t Come Out of Retirement to Play for Steelers

The Steelers lost one of their best players, Cam Heyward, who suffered a groin injury that will sideline him for up to eight weeks. But the thought that J.J. Watt could come out of retirement to help replace the void left by Heyward did cross the mind. But Watt says that will not be happening.

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Appearing on the Pat McAfee Show on Wednesday, Watt shot down those rumors. While he loves the City of Pittsburgh and the Steelers organization, coming out of retirement does not make sense. For one, Watt has not trained in a football manner since his retirement. Instead, he enjoys life in the booth and recently became a part-owner of Burnley F.C., an English soccer team. In other words, he is currently entrenched in the retirement lifestyle.

“I love the City of Pittsburgh,” Watt said. “I love the people there, the way that they treat my brother, the history, the tradition, I have so much respect for that place. It is incredible. I’m enjoying being retired. It’s great.”

If there was any thought of it happening, Watt squashed it there. He will not be playing for the Steelers but will keep rooting for his brother, T.J., to do well for the season. As for what the Steelers can do, Pittsburgh could go outside the organization, but elevating a guy like Breiden Fehoko seems even likelier than that. Pittsburgh needs run defense and significant bodies in the middle, and Fehoko brings that to the defensive line. It’s up to the Steelers if they want to make a move for someone with a higher pass-rush upside than Fehoko.

For the defensive line, their game against the Browns will become critical to decide how the team’s future will go without Heyward. Guys such as Keeanu Benton, Montravius Adams, Isaiahh Loudermilk, Armon Watts, and others will be critical to step up with Heyward out. It is a tough blow for the Steelers to swallow for their All-Pro defensive lineman, who has been a bastion of health over his career. The groin injury is the first significant injury he has had in recent years, and now the load will go even more onto T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith to make things happen off the edge.