Pittsburgh Steelers rookie DB Ryan Watts suffered a scary injury in the final preseason game against the Detroit Lions in late August after being one of the team’s two sixth-round picks in the 2024 NFL Draft. The injury occurred in the final two minutes of the game. He appears to have shared an update on his recovery from that injury via Instagram this evening.

“This has easily been one of the hardest years of my life. Through serious injury and all I will remain optimistic because I can do ALL things through HIM. Road to recovery…” Watts wrote.

The last update we heard from him was in late November, when he spoke to TribLive’s Chris Adamski and said he was still awaiting medical clearance. The photo he shared on Instagram appears to be a post-surgery photo, but we are unable to confirm if this was a recent surgery or if he is just sharing an update of his difficult journey over the past few months.

For what it’s worth, he has been seen at various team functions without the neck brace he was reportedly wearing in the immediate aftermath of the injury.

Watts was having a strong preseason with 13 total tackles, including nine solo tackles in three games. He wasn’t expected to be a major contributor in year one, but his athleticism and versatility made him an intriguing late-round prospect to develop in the secondary.

Here was the scary scene during the Lions game when he was initially injured.

Watts was added to IR before roster cuts, which ended his season without any chance of a designation to return. We probably won’t get too many more updates on his status until some of the offseason training activities begin following the draft in May and June.

If this is indeed a new surgery, he has a tough road ahead of him to get prepared for the start of next season.