Don’t give expectations to J.J. Watt. He will break them.
What was once supposed to be a season-ending torn pectoral, Watt is back at Houston Texans practice two months after having a surgery that normals includes a three to six months recovery time.
The Texans played it safe with Watt at first. However, after they activated him from the injured reserve, he’s already back in the fold. He will play on Saturday in a wild card matchup with the Buffalo Bills.
In preparation for the Bills postseason bout, the Texans are allowing Watt to practice in full pads. For him, that means football feels like, well, football.
“It feels great,” Watt said on Wednesday. “It feels great. It felt like football. It felt like how it’s supposed to feel. It felt great to be out there, to be hitting pads, to be working on all the things I want to work on – bull rush, tackle, pass rush moves, everything I wanted to do. So, it just feels good, feels like I’m home.”
Though the Texans will limit his snaps, Watt won’t get the luxury of taking Saturday’s matchup as one to spend most of his time recovering. Houston’s reeling pass rush desperately needs the three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year.
The Texans’ hurry rate (7%) and pressure rate (18.1%) are both 31st in the NFL, just ahead of the Miami Dolphins. Take out Watt’s eight games played, those already dismal numbers sink.
Before the injury, Watt recorded four sacks, 20 quarterback hits and 24 quarterback pressures. He will wear a harness on his pectoral to prevent re-injury. Though there is an increased risk of re-injury, the career-long Texan is risking it all.
Why? Watt is a football guy. If it feels like football, he’ll play it. Now, he seeks to play just more than one weekend’s worth after laboring to recover.