PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker T.J. Watt participated in the team’s second session of organized team activities on Wednesday at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex.
Watt was seen working in drills with defensive line coach Karl Dunbar on Wednesday, along with the rest of the team’s defensive linemen and linebackers.
OTAs are voluntary, and Watt certainly does not the additional work. The 2021 NFL Defensive Player of the Year has 77.5 career sacks and has been one of the best defenders in the league when healthy.
Watt missed seven games in 2022 with a torn pectoral muscle, the first time in his career he missed multiple games due to injury.
The Steelers have been busy this offseason in attempting to upgrade their depth behind Watt, bringing back former sixth-round pick Quincy Roche and drafting Nick Herbig in the fourth round.
Watt was joined at practice on Wednesday by fellow starter Alex Highsmith. Highsmith, who also worked on Tuesday, is at practice despite working on negotiations for a contract extension.
The Steelers do not release attendance or participation figures for OTAs, but the team has been very well represented in the first week of action so far, including the highest-paid player on the club. The Steelers will wrap their first week of action with practice session No. 3 on Thursday. The club can hold up to 10 OTA sessions over a three-week span.
More must-reads: