Will T.J. Watt bounce back in 2026?

Will T.J. Watt bounce back in 2026?

Last year an unfortunate injury hit when a trainer punctured his lung with a needle during dry needling treatment. He missed three games and clearly wasn’t himself afterward. With several months of rest he’s presumably 100% healthy now.

He finished 2025 with 7 sacks in 14 games (plus strong secondary production: 55 tackles, 2 INTs, 3 forced fumbles )

In 2026 he will be moved around more to wreck havoc based on the match up's and making the offense locate him every play. That should help a little.

At age 31, how much of a rebound should we expect? I think the days of 19+ sack seasons are behind him. But he’s still very good and should easily post at least 12 sacks this year.

 

Yes he will.

 

No, he won't. He's cooked.

 

Steelers should have bounced him for a pick a couple of years ago. Instead, they're stuck paying him way too much for what he's contributing.

Of course, I hope he will be able to turn back the clock and perform at peak level. I just don't think it's a very reasonable expectation.

 

But his ****ty chef left!

 

My vote is no but no doubt he will try his ass off.

 

He will be a double digit sack guy again. Last year was just a down year. Unless they keep trying to force him to blitz from multiple places.

 

I think we're too focused on sack numbers. Although his sack numbers were down, he's just as effective against the run and in coverage as he was 5 years ago.

 

I think he could get little more sacks than last year, I'd say 12 or 13 if he stays healthy, but it's unrealistic to expect him to return to his peak level of performance. Who knows though, maybe he can at least get close to that level? We'll see.

 

He will get up to 10 sacks and can play in spurts. Looks like there was a lot of turnover in the organization which will affect the overall team.