Pittsburgh Steelers

T.J. Watt underwent surgery on Thursday to repair and stabilize a partially collapsed lung after a dry needling treatment session at the Pittsburgh Steelers facility ... his brother, J.J., announced on Friday.

Watt shared the news on social media after the team announced he was admitted to the hospital with a health scare. While no recovery timeline is currently available, he is expected to be released from the hospital on Friday.

"He and his family are very appreciative of everyone's kind words and well wishes," J.J. said.

T.J. Watt experienced a health scare at the Pittsburgh Steelers' practice facility on Wednesday ... and was hospitalized with a lung issue.

Steelers spokesman Burt Lauten shared the concerning news on Thursday, stating the linebacker is at a medical facility for further medical evaluation after experiencing "discomfort" during practice.

"He will not be at practice on Thursday," Lauten said, "and his status for Monday night's game vs. Miami is in question."

Jalen Ramsey was fined over $14K by the NFL for unsportsmanlike conduct ... punishment for the star cornerback hitting Ja'Marr Chase after the star wideout spat on him during the Steelers-Bengals game.

Several NFL insiders broke the news Saturday morning, reporting the league office slapped 31-year-old Ramsey with a $14,491 fine for the week 11 incident.

It's unclear whether Ramsey, who is on a 4-year, $84.7 million deal, will appeal.

Even with what looks like clear video evidence, Ja'Marr Chase is denying he spat on Jalen Ramsey during the Bengals vs. Steelers game on Sunday ... claiming it simply didn't happen.

The superstar Bengals receiver and Steelers corner were jawing at each other throughout the AFC North matchup in Pittsburgh ... but things took a turn in the 4th quarter when Ramsey slapped Chase's helmet and grabbed his facemask -- earning a one-way ticket to the locker rooms in the process.

Viewers wondered what set Ramsey off -- and thanks to an up-close camera angle, it appeared Chase was caught in 4K spitting on Ramsey.

Antonio Brown is officially back in the Sunshine State ... the former NFL star was captured walking off a jet in Miami as he prepares to go on trial for attempted murder.

AB was seen arriving back in Florida hours after his plane touched down ... a few hours after he left the Essex County Jail in New Jersey, days after he told a judge he wouldn't fight extradition back to Florida. Brown was initially taken into custody last week in Dubai.

In the video, captured by Andy Slater, 37-year-old Brown is wearing a blue jacket while being escorted down the jet bridge stairs to the tarmac.

The Steelers are currently sitting pretty at the top of the AFC North with Aaron Rodgers under center -- a feat some didn't believe the 41-year-old quarterback could pull off ... but Jerome Bettis tells TMZ Sports he never doubted the player, only the body.

We caught up with the Pittsburgh legend this week at LAX ... and chopped it up about his former team lookin' pretty damn good so far this season, thanks to Rodgers' 17 touchdown passes.

Given Rodgers' underwhelming stint with the Jets last season, his resurgence has shocked plenty of fans ... but according to Bettis, you never count out a QB like him.

A Pittsburgh radio host now has some new hardware on his nipples ... and it's all because the Steelers let him down in a game earlier this month.

Andrew Fillipponi -- a 93.7 "The Fan" personality -- was so confident Pittsburgh would get a dub against Cincinnati back on Oct. 16 ... he actually made a big bet with his followers.

The deal was if the Steelers dropped the "Thursday Night Football" tilt to the Joe Flacco-led Bengals, he'd get a pair of rods driven through his areolas.

Aaron Rodgers went from elated to enraged in the blink of an eye during "Thursday Night Football" ... when his in-game celebration was derailed by a teammate knocking him to the ground.

Right after Rodgers completed a 68-yard touchdown pass to give Pittsburgh a 31-30 lead with a little over two minutes remaining in the game ... he hit his signature Mario Bros. pump as he was heading off the field.

During the gesture, his left tackle -- Broderick Jones -- wanted to show his QB some love ... so he came up from behind and gave him a big hug, which sent the two tumbling to the ground.

Breaking news to any Browns fans who snapped pics with Shedeur Sanders on Sunday -- no you didn't ... 'cause his brother, Shilo, hit the game pretending to be Cleveland's backup quarterback!!

The current free agent made the most of his free schedule and swung by the Browns' AFC North showdown against the Steelers at Acrisure Stadium on Sunday ... and it turns out some folks in attendance who made the trip were quite gullible.

Shilo rocked his older brother's rookie jersey with a massive chain for the outing ... and even threw up his signature "perfect timing" pose every chance he got to make it seem like he was QB2.

Skylar Thompson -- the Pittsburgh Steelers backup quarterback -- was attacked in Ireland before their game against the Minnesota Vikings, according to reports.

Tom Pelissero -- a longtime sports reporter who now works for NFL Network -- first reported the news that several men jumped and robbed Thompson while he was walking around Dublin earlier Saturday morning, around 3 AM local time.

Thankfully, Pelissero says Thompson -- who is currently on the injured reserve list -- suffered only minor injuries in the beating.

Brett Favre says there is one facet of Aaron Rodgers' Hall of Fame career that perplexes him ... admitting to TMZ Sports he's shocked the star quarterback only has one Super Bowl ring.

No. 4 sat down with us this week to break down his former teammate's Steelers debut ... and while he raved over Rodgers' play in Pittsburgh's season-opening win, he did relent he's surprised there's not some more championship bling on Aaron's mantle.

"What I'm most surprised by," Favre said as he reflected on Rodgers' time in the NFL, "is he hasn't won more Super Bowls, as prolific as he's been."

Nicholas Hoult admittedly knows very little about American football, but one thing's clear -- after he took in the Pittsburgh preseason game over the weekend, he's a big fan of Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers!

The "Superman" actor hit up Acrisure Stadium on Saturday to catch the Black and Yellow's exhibition matchup with the Buccaneers ... and he told TMZ Sports out at LAX on Tuesday the trip was awesome.

He got some one-on-one time with Rodgers just before kickoff -- and he said it was "cool" to bro down with Pitt's new signal-caller.

Cordarrelle Patterson isn't moping about getting released from the Pittsburgh Steelers this week ... but he IS mopping.

The NFL vet took to his Instagram to post a late-night story Wednesday ... letting his followers know his life now consists of household chores instead of resting his body for training camp.

He also included a shameless tag of the cleaning company he was using ... perhaps a sponsorship will help him keep food on the table?? We kid, the guy has made nearly $43 million on the field in his career.

As many as three NFL legends could be throwing hands on the upcoming Adrian Peterson fight card ... as Le'Veon Bell just told TMZ Sports he's got interest in boxing Frank Gore at the event.

We caught up with the former Pittsburgh Steelers tailback out at LAX this week ... and given he once knocked out Peterson in the squared circle, we had to ask about the upcoming tilt between A.P. and his poker rival, Joe "Baby Joe" Castaneda.

Bell said he believes his ex-NFL colleague will win ... before he informed us he'd actually be down to mix it up in a bout just prior to the Peterson vs. Castaneda main event.

Aaron Rodgers' Wednesday afternoon featured a lot of beauty -- sand, sun and fresh air -- but one thing was missing ... his new wife.

The Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback was seen enjoying a lovely Southern California day during a mid-week Malibu beach stroll ... and while he had his guns out and wedding ring on, there was no sign of his forever partner.

It's, of course, not too surprising ... as Rodgers has kept tight-lipped about his marriage ever since he surprised everyone at this year's Kentucky Derby when he showed up with a new band on that finger.