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TJ Watt of the Steelers plays against the Ravens; George Pickens is out again

TJ Watt of the Steelers plays against the Ravens; George Pickens is out again

PITTSBURGH – The Steelers’ top pass rusher, TJ Watt, who injured his ankle late against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, was removed from the injury report on Thursday and will play in Saturday’s game at the Baltimore Ravens.

He does not have a game designation, signaling that he is ready for the game.

Earlier Thursday, Watt said he was feeling “pretty good” this week but was noncommittal about his status.

“We’ll see on Sunday – or Saturday, I should say – but I’ve felt pretty good this week,” Watt said Thursday. “Obviously it’s a short week, but it felt pretty good.”

Although the Steelers will have Watt, they will be without wide receiver George Pickens (hamstring) for the third consecutive game and quarterback Justin Fields, who suffered an abdominal injury against the Eagles. Cornerback Donte Jackson (back) and defensive end Larry Ogunjobi (groin) were both listed as questionable, while safety DeShon Elliott (hamstring) is listed as questionable.

Watt left the Week 15 loss to the Eagles with five minutes left in the game after twisting his ankle. He didn’t take part in Tuesday’s walkthrough, but was upgraded to a limited participant on Wednesday and appeared to do even more work on Thursday.

“In a short week like this you don’t do much in training to push it, so I want to see how it feels on Saturday,” Watt said earlier Thursday. “But I’m feeling pretty good right now.”

Although it wouldn’t be ideal, Watt said he would be open to playing with a snap count if necessary.

“I try to be out there as much as possible, so obviously I wouldn’t want to do that, but if that’s the only thing I can do… I’ll take what I can get,” he said.

Watt recorded a sack, two tackles for loss and two quarterback hits in the Week 11 meeting with the Ravens. So far this season, the Defensive Player of the Year candidate has forced a league-leading six fumbles and 11.5 sacks.

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