The NFL regular season officially gets underway this Thursday night, when the Dallas Cowboys go on the road to play the defending Super Bowl champions, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

We're just five days away from the start of the Buffalo Bills season when they take on the Pittsburgh Steelers at 1 pm this Sunday at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park.

There are plenty of storylines going into week 1 of the Bills season opener, but the biggest has to be the playing status of edge rusher, T.J. Watt.

Watt has not participated in team drills at Steelers camp all summer, due to a contract dispute, which has spilled over to September.

According to ESPN senior reporter Jeremy Fowler, Watt's status for week 1 has to be in doubt, since the Steelers value players practicing in order to play.

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Watt has only participated in individual drills during camp and while he's still under contract, Watt has been seeking a new deal with a pay increase.

This isn't the first time a Steelers player has held out for a better contract.

Back in 2018, starting running back Le'Veon Bell sat out the entire season over a contract dispute and later played with the New York Jets and Kansan City Chiefs.

Watt led the NFL in sacks in 2020 and is one of the best defensive players in the NFL, so if he doesn't play, that's a huge win for the Bills.

Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin is expected to address the status of Watt later today when he speaks to the media, so we will see if Watt is on track to play this Sunday, despite not practicing yet in team drills.

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