The latest comeback of Texans defensive end J.J. Watt became official Tuesday when he returned to practice.
The three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year rejoined his teammates on the practice field two months after tearing a pectoral muscle against the Raiders and undergoing surgery. The early return, months after Watt declared himself out for the season, involves an element of risk because the normal recovery time for this type of injury ranges between three to four months.
Now, Watt is preparing to be back in two weeks when the Texans host a wild-card playoff game. Through Watt’s prodigious work ethic and desire to return, he’s back for the Texans’ postseason run. And there’s an understanding from him that there’s a small chance he could tear his pectoral again and would have to undergo another surgery to repair the damage.
To prevent that from happening, Watt is wearing a protective harness to lower the risk of injury. To Watt, the opportunity to play in the playoffs makes the grueling regimen of rehabilitation and the possibility of getting hurt again more than worth it.
“Running back out of that tunnel, playing in front of those fans with my teammates and being able to do for them what I’ve wanted to do since the day I got here and that’s win, that’s what I’m trying to do,” Watt said Tuesday during a press conference at NRG Stadium. “That’s why after two months, I’m coming back because that’s what I want to accomplish. I want to win for these people.
“So, is there an element of risk? Yes. But is the upside 100 times better? Yes. Because there’s nothing I want to do more than to win with these guys in the locker room, for these fans here in Houston, because I love them and I love the game.”
The Texans designated Watt to return from injured reserve and now have a 21-day window for Watt to be placed on the active roster or remain on injured reserve for the remainder of the season. Barring a setback, the Texans are expected to place Watt on the 53-man roster in advance of their home playoff game. The Texans are currently slated to play Buffalo if they remain in the fourth seed.
“Yes, the plan is for the first playoff game,” Watt said.
Watt tore his pectoral when he tackled Raiders rookie running back Josh Jacobs for a loss.
“When you bench 550 pounds, that happens sometimes,” said Tennessee Titans coach Mike Vrabel, a former Texans defensive coordinator.
When the injury happened, Watt said he didn’t feel any pain initially. He adjusted his shoulder pads quickly before heading to the locker room to be examined.
“I knew something was wrong, but I didn’t have any pain,” Watt said. “I think it was just such a fast thing. I knew something was wrong. I didn’t know what was wrong and then I tried to play the next play and realized something was pretty wrong.”
Whenever Watt is back on the field, there are scenarios where he would operate as a situational pass rusher and run-stopper. If his body can handle a full workload, then Watt will play more than originally anticipated. That’s a fluid situation, though.
“I’m sure it’s not going to be an every-play type of thing, just for the first one back,” Watt said. “I don’t think that would be the best situation.”
Over the past few years, Watt has overcome a litany of injuries. He had a herniated disc in his back in 2016 that required two surgeries and limited him to three games. He had a gruesome leg fracture in 2017 that ended his season after five games.
This injury was unique because Watt was able to move around a lot more during the rehab process.
“This one is obviously a little bit different than some of my other ones,” Watt said. “You have the back and you have the leg, which are two massive, massive things that really affect movement. The nice thing about this surgery was that this whole time I’ve been able to run.”
A year ago, Watt engineered a successful, healthy return as he played every game and recorded 16 sacks and 18 tackles for loss and was named All-Pro. This return didn’t seem like a real possibility at first.
When Watt was injured Oct. 27, he wrote on social media: “This game can be beautiful and it can also be brutal. Absolutely gutted that I won’t be able to finish the season with my guys and give the fans what they deserve.”
Two months later, it’s a different story altogether for Watt.
“Obviously, when I got hurt, I just assumed I was done,” Watt said. “I didn’t even know that there was a possibility, and then literally a couple of days after the surgery I was feeling so good that I just started asking questions. I said, ‘Is it remotely possible?’
“We left the door open for a possibility and from there doing whatever I could do and we arrived to here. I wouldn’t call it a difficult decision. I get a chance to play in the playoffs with my team and go out there and try and help us win football games.”
The Texans should get a major boost from Watt, who commanded the respect of the most double-team blocking attention in the NFL before his injury. The 6-5, 288-pounder has four sacks and one forced fumble in eight games Without Watt, the Texans’ pass rush has languished and the defense has frequently struggled to get off the field.
“I’m excited to get back out there and to help in any way I can, obviously get after the passer,” Watt said. “That’s always my No. 1 goal is find the football, get the football, so that’s what I’m going to continue to do and that’s what I’m hoping to get back out there and help these guys do is get after the quarterback.”
Watt expressed confidence that his chest will hold up. There’s been a lot of testing done in terms of measuring the strength and flexibility and imaging performed since the injury happened.
“I feel very good and we’ve done a lot of obviously building the strength back up to where the strength needs to be,” Watt said. “When I discuss the element of risk, I mean there’s two options: it’s going to hold up or it’s not. The reason that I’m comfortable with that risk is because I know the consequences of that risk.
“It’s the exact same procedure, it’s three months recovery and we’re back in action. But I do feel very confident from what we’ve done in the weight room, to where the strength level is compared to where it was before the injury. I’m very confident in the way it has reacted.”
Texans outside linebacker Whitney Mercilus, who tore his pectoral muscle in 2017 and has recorded a team-high 7½ sacks this year, said Watt has been “cranking out push-ups.”
It hasn’t exactly been cloaked in secrecy that Watt would play again this season, but it wasn’t widely known even by his teammates that he would be practicing Tuesday.
“We’ve kept it pretty quiet because I didn’t know. We didn’t know for a long time,” Watt said. “There were a couple of them that found out from the Internet. You never want to over-promise and under-deliver.”
The impact of Watt’s return can’t be overstated. He led the entire league with 20 quarterback hits after eight games. The Wisconsin native had 43½ percent of the defense’s quarterback hits.
Watt has recorded 96 sacks and 23 forced fumbles in nine NFL seasons
“The fans are a big part of the reason that I want to be out there and I’ve worked so hard to come back,” Watt said. “I love these fans, I love this city and I want nothing more than to win for these people. Some days, you don’t feel like doing it, some days it’s very tough.
“What gets you through is your teammates, your family and the fans, and knowing that when you do get back on that field, you’re doing it for people you care about and that you love. You want to give them something to be proud of.”
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