TJ Watt, Cameron Heyward injury update: Critical news emerges on Steelers defensive stars

Steelers defensive stars Cam Heyward and TJ Watt left due to injury in the Wild Card round against the Baltimore Ravens on Saturday. However, they have both since returned to action.

Heyward was evaluated for a concussion but has been cleared to return to Saturday’s Wild Card playoff game against the Ravens, the team reported. The defensive lineman suffered the injury near the end of the first half as Baltimore scored a touchdown to take a 21-0 lead. He left early to the locker room causing some concern about his status going forward, but is thankfully OK.

Watt went to the sideline early in the third quarter after suffering an apparent injury. He later returned to the contest wearing a brace on his left elbow.

“When you saw TJ Watt come out of the game earlier, he was met pretty quicky by the team’s orthopedist, who tested the stability of Watt’s left elbow and fitted it for that brace you can see him wearing reinforced by tape,” sidelined reporter Kaylee Hartung said. “This first series back will be really telling for the strength he has there.”

Thankfully, the injuries to neither Cam Heyward nor TJ Watt were serious and they were able to give it their all as the Steelers attempted to come back from 21-0 down at halftime. Unfortunately, they weren’t able to pull it off and ultimately saw their season end in a 28-14 loss.

Tony Gonzalez fuels speculation on Mike Tomlin’s future with Steelers following loss to Ravens

One of the most amazing stats in football is Mike Tomlin‘s ability to finish a season at least .500. In 18 years as the Pittsburgh Steelers head coach, Tomlin has never produced a losing record. But the regular season success has not translated in the playoffs recently, not advancing in the postseason since 2017.

Some fans have begun to grow upset and now, Tony Gonzalez is adding to the speculation. During the Amazon Prime postgame show, he said Tomlin may need a change of scenery. Similar to a move Andy Reid pulled while struggling to break through with Philadelphia, Gonzalez believes that could be beneficial for Tomlin.

“We talked about it in the preseason game,” Gonzalez said postgame. “Mike Tomlin’s team coming out and getting throttled like this again. I said there was whispers and I got little texts like, ‘What do you mean whispers?’ I’m not saying the F-word. I’m not saying you fire Mike Tomlin.

“What I’m saying is maybe a change of scenery, Andy Reid style, had so much success up there in Philly and then went to Kansas City and started a dynasty. This would be something that would be mutually agreed upon if Mike Tomlin were to get a job somewhere else, and he’d get a job right away.”

On’s Griffin McVeigh contributed to this report.