Steelers Sign Potential TJ Watt Replacement

Updated: Sep 10, 5:00pm UTC

The Pittsburgh Steelers' Week 1 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals didn't come without bad news. Star linebacker T.J. Watt exited Sunday's game with a pectoral injury and didn't return. While it likely isn't a season-ending injury, medical experts agree that he's probably headed for the IR.

With Watt set to miss some time, the Steelers are already searching for a replacement. They may have found one after signing LB Ryan Anderson to the practice squad on Tuesday. The former 2017 second-round pick last played for the Washington Commanders in 2020.

TJ Watt Injury News

After four years with the Commanders, Anderson joined the Giants on a one-year deal last season. He never played for them, however, as he was released after being suspended six games for violating the NFL's PED policy.

While Anderson has a bit of a checkered past, there aren't really any better options out there at this point in the season. Besides, Anderson has a decent amount of experience after playing 52 games over four seasons, including four starts in 2019. During that span, the former Alabama product recorded 86 tackles, six sacks, five forced fumbles and a broken-up pass.

At the very least, Anderson could be a warm body to occupy a roster spot until Watt is healthy. At the end of the day, there's simply no replacing the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year, who led the league with 22.5 sacks and 21 tackles for a loss in 2021.

Patriots vs Steelers Odds

With Anderson signed, he may make his Steelers debut in Week 2 against the New England Patriots. For now, FanDuel Sportsbook's NFL odds list Pittsburgh as 1.5-point home underdogs against the Patriots, although both teams have -110 odds to cover the spread.

Devon Platana is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Devon Platana also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username PepeSilvia0. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.