Steelers star T.J. Watt reveals how he almost quit football altogether after series of brutal knee injuries in college

Many agree that T.J. Watt is near the top of the defensive leaderboard in the NFL heading into the 2022 season. J.J. Watt blazed the trail and his brother was able to live up to the name. However, it almost didn't happen. The defensive superstar almost quit the sport altogether amid a multi-year saga of knee injuries.

Speaking on The Pivot podcast, the defensive star told the story. Knee injuries almost made the road to the NFL untenable for the Wisconsin tight-end-turned-linebacker.

Here's how he told the story:

"I got recruited to play tight end at Wisconsin... We're doing drills and I plant weird. Kneecap pops out. I dislocated my kneecap and popped it back in... So I rehab that. I come back to 2014 spring ball practice. I feel real good about myself."

He went on:

"Bam! It happens [again]. Okay, I just got to rehab it. I'll be back. Come back in the fall for a second day of pads... Bam, it happens again. So at this point, luckily my brother is in the NFL and he's got Walter Lowe, the team surgeon for the Texans. He operates on my right knee."

He continued:

"I come back, I'm like, 'Oh, I'm prepared...' Third practice, left leg goes again. So at that point that was like the point of my life where I said, 'I'm going to go get the surgery. I'm not really upset at this point..."

Watt added:

"But if I get to surgery and it happens one more time, I'm done like this. I'm going to give it one more chance. I'm going to dedicate my life to football and do everything I possibly can."

He explained how the injuries led to him switching to defense:

"I got that knee repaired in the summer of 2015, and the head coach said, what do you think about switching to defense? I kind of took it as a slap in the face like, 'Well, am I not a good enough tight end' and I talked to my brothers a little bit and decided to try to play defense. Fell in love with it..."

Lastly, he revealed that he thought about becoming a firefighter instead while explaining that his name isn't actually T.J.:

"I was like 'I don't know, man. This keeps happening... I know you're a firefighter. I might have to go that route. I don't know. And he's like, 'well, Trent, just take a second chance.' Trent's my real name."

So there it is. T.J. Watt was one more knee injury from giving up on football. His perseverance should be a lesson for us all.

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T.J. Watt's NFL career

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Watt's career began in 2017 when he was selected in the first round of the NFL fraft by the Pittsburgh Steelers. In his rookie season, he started out as the right outside linebacker. In that campaign, he put together a strong final statline, earning seven sacks and 54 combined tackles.

In 2018, he was moved to left outside linebacker. He improved upon his first-year statistics, almost doubling his sack total with 13 sacks. In 2019, Watt improved again, recording 14.5 sacks and eight forced fumbles. In 2020, his sack total jumped higher, this time earning 15 sacks.

Heading into 2021, most expected the linebacker to tread water or maybe slightly improve. Instead, Watt's production skyrocketed. In 2021, he earned 7.5 more sacks than the previous year with 22.5 sacks and nearly set a new NFL record. Will the linebacker be able to set a new career-high for a fifth-straight year?

If any of the above quotes are used, please credit The Pivot and H/T Sportskeeda.