Another in a long line of injury losses for the Steelers is the loss of T.J. Watt for the playoff opener

The list is long enough to fill out a baseball lineup.

Nine starters have missed significant chunks of games this year for the Pittsburgh Steelers because of injury or suspension.

It includes, on offense, wide receiver Diontae Johnson, tight end Pat Freiermuth and quarterback Kenny Pickett. On defense, one could find defensive tackle Cameron Heyward, linebackers Kwon Alexander and Cole Holcomb, and safeties Keanu Neal, Damontae Kazee and Minkah Fitzpatrick, who actually qualifies twice.

Now, the Steelers will be without arguably their most indispensable player to start the AFC playoffs. Former NFL Defensive Player of the Year and three-time league sacks leader T.J. Watt will miss the Steelers’ wild-card game Sunday at Buffalo with a knee injury.

“Playing without T.J. is significant, but, to be quite honest with you, we’ve played without a lot of people this year,” coach Mike Tomlin said Tuesday. “It’s another opportunity for us to strike a blow for ‘team’ and display what ‘team’ really means.”

Watt started all 17 games this season and led the NFL with 19 sacks before he was injured in the second half last Sunday at Baltimore. After Watt missed seven games last season with a torn pectoral muscle, the Steelers fortified their depth in the offseason by signing veteran Markus Golden as a backup and drafting Wisconsin’s Nick Herbig in the fourth round.

In limited playing time, Golden finished third on the team with four sacks. Herbig tied for fourth with three.

“It’s not going to be a one-man job in terms of replacing T.J.,” Tomlin said. “I said similar things when Cam Heyward missed a block of games. It will be a committee approach. We had better strengthen our output in other areas because T.J. is one of a kind.”

The Steelers will see an increase in numbers in the secondary with Fitzpatrick’s impending return from a knee injury. Kazee can begin practicing again after serving a three-game suspension for a helmet-to-helmet hit on Indianapolis receiver Michael Pittman.

Converted corner Patrick Peterson has started the past three games at free safety, and Eric Rowe, who was unemployed until Nov. 20, filled in for Kazee at strong safety.

“We’ll evaluate him from a conditioning perspective and define a division of labor for him as we push through the week,” Tomlin said about Kazee.

The return of Fitzpatrick could mean a return to cornerback for Peterson. Tomlin called it an “option” the Steelers didn’t have earlier in the season.

“There are a number of those type of things in terms of dividing labor up,” Tomlin said. “It won’t be an issue, but it’s something we’ll have to push through.”

Injury update

Although Fitzpatrick is close to returning from his knee injury sustained during a collision with Peterson in Indianapolis, Tomlin said the All-Pro free safety could be limited in practice early in the week. He gave the same assessment to inside linebacker Elandon Roberts, who played against Baltimore after missing a game with a pectoral injury.

Tomlin did not provide an update on injured backup safety Trenton Thompson, who has missed three games with a neck injury.

Roster moves

Outside linebacker David Perales is back for his third stint on the practice squad. He was signed Tuesday in the wake of Tomlin declaring Watt out for the playoff opener.

The return of Perales to the practice squad led to the release of safety Nate Meadors from the practice squad. The Steelers also released former Penn State quarterback Trace McSorley from the practice squad.

The Steelers must make a 53-man roster move Wednesday to pave the way for Kazee’s return. They had a roster exemption during his three-game absence.

Tricky situation

Tomlin wasn’t overly impressed with Godwin Igwebuike’s decision to field a kickoff out of bounds against Baltimore, a tactic that paid off and gave the Steelers the ball at the 40-yard line.

“Those are procedural things we work on all the time. We’d have been hacked off had he not done it,” Tomlin said. “I credit him for being professional, but you guys act like he did a stupid human trick. He was just being a professional.”

oe Rutter is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Joe by email at jrutter@triblive.com or via Twitter .