PITTSBURGH — For the second time this season, T.J. Watt is returning to the Steelers lineup after missing just one game due to injury.
Watt will be back Sunday to face the Bengals after sitting out last week against the Chargers because of lingering hip and knee issues from the Lions game. He was a full participant in practice Friday after being limited the two previous sessions and carries no injury designation for Week 11.
"I just got rolled up weird," Watt said of what happened two weeks ago. "My knee felt a little unstable at the time. Went to get up, and when I got up, I realized I had a lot of discomfort in my hip. ... Luckily, it wasn't anything too serious and I feel a lot better this week."
The Steelers are now 0-2 in games without Watt, including the first time they faced the Bengals. But they're also 0-2 this season without cornerback Joe Haden, and Haden is questionable with the same mid-foot sprain that kept him sidelined along with Watt last Sunday night.
Haden managed just one more limited practice Friday, the second day in a row he was listed as such after not participating at all Wednesday. If he can't play, second-year cornerback James Pierre will be in line to start again, with either Arthur Maulet or Ahkello Witherspoon playing more as the No. 3. Maulet was a full participant Friday after missing Thursday with an undisclosed illness.
The only two players ruled out are offensive lineman J.C. Hassenauer, who has a pectoral injury, and tight end Eric Ebron, who likely will miss extended time with a knee injury. Hassenauer would've been the starter at left guard again in place of Kevin Dotson, who's on injured reserve, but the Steelers will roll with either B.J. Finney or Joe Haeg there. Finney has played sparingly this year, but he has more experience on the interior than Haeg throughout their six-season careers.
Rookie defensive lineman Isaiahh Loudermilk (groin) and starting right guard Trai Turner (knee) are full-go after practicing in full for the second day in a row. Both did not participate Wednesday.
Watt's heavy heart
Speaking of Watt, he and his brothers are natives of Waukesha County in Wisconsin, where the driver of an SUV killed six people and injured 62 others during a Christmas parade hours before the Steelers faced the Chargers.
Watt's oldest brother, J.J., stepped up to pay for the funeral expenses for the victims, but his siblings in Pittsburgh also have offered support, and T.J. explained Friday how the tragedy has hit so close to home for one of the NFL's most famous families.
"First and foremost, we were trying to see if anyone we knew was affected," T.J. said. "My dad was a firefighter in that community for 28 years. He's been in that parade multiple times, and my fiancee, Dani, went to middle school right on that same street. Very gutted for everybody involved and everyone who saw and witnessed everything that happened. We had family there, but luckily none of them were hurt. Our hearts go out to all the people affected. We're going to continue to try to help those people as much as possible."
A very Tomlin Thanksgiving
In his first major holiday in a new city, Steelers first-round pick Najee Harris wasn't sure how he'd spend Thanksgiving. But once practice was over Thursday, he and some teammates went to have dinner with their coach, and it sounds as if Mike Tomlin's house was the place to be.
"It was different, not spending time with my family," said the 23-year-old rookie from California's Bay Area. "But they FaceTimed me, I talked to them. It was good just to be in a new city on the holidays and spend time with my team and my coach and talk about stuff other than football. It was a good bonding experience."
Asked if he baked anything for the occasion, or even stopped at a grocery store for a side dish, Harris just smiled and said, "No, it wasn't a — what's that thing where you bring your own? — no, it wasn't a potluck."
