Ryan Watts injury, explained: Why Steelers are recommending 2024 draft pick ends football career

Daniel Mader

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Ryan Watts injury, explained: Why Steelers are recommending 2024 draft pick ends football career image

On Monday, the Steelers released a team statement on the future of one of their former draft selections, Ryan Watts.

Watts, a cornerback who played college football at Ohio State and Texas, joined the Steelers around a year ago. But due to a significant injury, his football career may be over.

The Steelers said they are releasing Watts and indicated it may be in his best interest to retire from the sport.

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Here's what to know about Watts' injury, why the Steelers released him and when he was taken in the NFL Draft.

Ryan Watts injury, explained

Heading into his rookie NFL season, Watts injured his neck in a 2024 preseason game. There were no details on the extent of his injury, which was originally called a stinger according to NBC Sports, but the Steelers placed him on season-ending IR shortly after.

Watts spent the 2024 season still around the team, but sidelined due to his injury. Per Nick Farabaugh, the defensive back had surgery earlier in the offseason.

On Monday, Steelers general manager Omar Khan released a statement through the team, which said Watts would be released after "consulting with our medical team, medical experts and Ryan's representatives."

Khan wrote that all agreed that it's in Watts' "best interest to discontinue playing football at this time" and that the Steelers will "continue to assists and support" him moving forward.

Due to the neck injury, Watts is now expected to medically retire after his brief stint in the NFL. 

Ryan Watts NFL Draft

The Steelers selected Watts with the 195th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Before he had the chance to step foot in a regular season game, Watts is now parting ways with Pittsburgh.

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Daniel Mader

Daniel Mader joined Sporting News as an editorial intern in 2024 following his graduation from Penn State University. Previously, he covered Penn State, high school and local sports beats for NBC Sports, the Centre Daily Times, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, The Daily Collegian and LancasterOnline. He grew up in Lancaster, Penn., with a love for baseball that’ll never fade, but could also talk basketball or football for days.