T.J. Watt talks swimming pool slip, suiting up with new, old faces in Steelers' position room

After missing the first day of organized team activities, T.J. Watt joined his Pittsburgh Steelers teammates for the two other scheduled workouts this week at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex.

That’s probably a good thing for the seventh-year veteran and former NFL Defensive Player of the Year.

As Watt showed with a recent social media post that went viral, he functions much better on land than he does around water.

On Thursday, Watt recounted the slip seen around the world, the Instagram video that showed the 28-year-old outside linebacker falling into his swimming pool last week while he was in the midst of cleaning it.

As his security camera footage showed, Watt was standing near the edge of the pool and reaching for some debris with a net when he slipped and tumbled into the water.

“I don’t know how I missed the step, but I did,” Watt said, then smiled and added, “A lesser athlete would have gotten hurt.”

Warning.. The activity in this video may be dangerous… don’t try at home.. (I am completely ok ????) pic.twitter.com/IiXt5xQmsh

— TJ Watt (@_TJWatt) May 18, 2023

Watt acted quickly to toss his cellphone out of the water after he emerged. The video also showed Watt’s dog barely acknowledging the accident.

“I was very calm,” he said. “I was happy with myself being calm. The dog didn’t react how I wanted to, but that’s because I yelled at him two minutes before that because he was digging in some mud.”

Watt said the number of teammates and friends he heard from after posting his gaffe on social media were “too many.”

“The only reason I posted it was because I didn’t get hurt. It was all in good fun,” he said. “I put it in the group chat, and they said it’s too funny not to post.”

It was back to business for Watt this week when he arrived on the South Side for voluntary OTA workouts. He returned to a position room that includes fourth-year outside linebacker Alex Highsmith, who is coming off his best NFL season, and several fresh faces.

Watt and Highsmith have been the two constants at outside linebacker since 2020. Bud Dupree left after that season in free agency. Melvin Ingram was traded midseason in 2021, and Malik Reed lasted just the 2022 season before also exiting in free agency. Other backups such as Derrek Tuszka and Ola Adeniyi departed as well.

This year, the backups will come from a group that is expected to include fourth-round draft pick Nick Herbig and 32-year-old veteran Markus Golden, who signed a one-year deal Wednesday with the Steelers and will arrive for OTAs when they resume next week.

Watt has familiarity with each player. His brother, three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year J.J. Watt, spent the past two seasons playing alongside Golden in Arizona. Watt knows Herbig from his ties to Wisconsin.

“J.J. had nothing but good things to say about him,” Watt said of Golden, who had 11 sacks two years ago. “I’m excited to get to work with him.”

Golden will replace Reed, who totaled just one sack in 14 games last season, as the veteran backup to Watt and Highsmith.

“It will help,” Watt said. “We’re always about having depth, especially in the pass-rush game. He has a lot of experience, and he’s someone I’m looking forward to learning from.”

Herbig is the first outside linebacker drafted by the Steelers since they selected Highsmith in the third round in 2020. Watt and Herbig have exchanged text messages since they met two years ago. Watt also has sent Herbig videos of his pass-rush moves.

“I’ve seen him grow as a pass rusher, and I’m excited to have him in the room,” Watt said.

Herbig had 11 sacks in his junior season after tallying nine as a sophomore.

“That’s something I wasn’t able to do,” said Watt, who was a one-year starter in college. “I didn’t watch every game, but I know he has a very well-rounded pass-rush game.”

The Steelers and Watt wouldn’t mind if Herbig makes the kind of progression Highsmith did after he got acclimated to the defensive scheme. After contributing little as a rookie, Highsmith had six sacks his second season and a team-high 14.5 last year.

“Confidence,” Watt said when asked what impresses him the most about Highsmith. “That is a huge thing in the NFL, being able to be confident and knowing you can hang and perform at the highest level. His pass-rush repertoire has continued to grow. I think he plays the run really well, also. He continues to get better. He doesn’t seem to be satisfied. That’s always exciting.”