Blame the internet.
J.J. Watt was keeping quiet the surprise that he was going to come back from injured reserve, but the internet and social media managed to inform his Houston Texans teammates before he had a chance on Tuesday before practice.
“There were a couple of them that found out from the internet today,” Watt told reporters Tuesday. “You never want to over-promise and under-deliver, so I think this whole time I’ve never wanted to promise anything to anybody.”
Of course, even if the golden age of typewriters and print journalism, Watt’s teammates would have found out because their own eyes of what the three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year was doing around the building with his rehabilitation would lead them to believe he was making progress, no matter how quiet he tried to keep it.
“I just wanted to promise that I was going to work hard every single day for the possibility of coming back and that’s all I’ve done,” said Watt. “And I’m not promising anything today. All I’m promising is that I’m going back out on the practice field today and I get the opportunity to be back with my team and to work towards that first playoff game.”
Watt produced 24 tackles, 4.0 sacks, four tackles for loss, three pass breakups, a forced fumble, and two fumble recoveries in his eight starts until tearing his pectoral muscle on Oct. 27 in a 27-24 win over the Oakland Raiders. Initially, it appeared that Watt’s season was over. However, tremendous progress after his surgery along with a low risk of re-injury and rehabilitation affecting his 2020 offseason compared to the high reward of helping Houston further into the postseason was too rich of an opportunity to pass up.
“I’m very thankful and grateful for the opportunity to be back on the field because this is the game I love and this is the opportunity that I love,” said Watt.
The Texans finish up the 2017 regular season with a Week 17 rematch with the Tennessee Titans at NRG Stadium. Houston will play wild-card weekend, Jan. 4-5, with opponent, day, and time announced at halftime of the Sunday Night Football game between the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers.