J.J. Watt playing in season opener “looks decent”
By Maher Ayoub
Houston Texans head coach Bill O’Brien spoke with media on Friday and seemed optimistic about DL J.J. Watt’s chances to play in season opener against Bears.
The football world is still looking for confirmation that Houston Texans All-Pro J.J. Watt is indeed human. After reports came in that Watt had sports hernia surgery in January of this year, it came out that he reportedly played through some serious injuries toward the end of the 2015 season. Watt had five either partially or fully torn muscles in his torso, groin and upper legs that required surgery on both sides of his body. He suffered through the herniated disc halfway through 2015 too which is part of the reason he was expected to miss the first few games of this season.
Watt is certainly no stranger to playing through injuries that would normally sideline other players, and is known for his pain tolerance. Last year prior to Week 14, Watt broke his hand midweek during practice but still took the field that week donning a club on his hand. He has yet to miss a start in his NFL career, and it looks as if Watt looks to continue that trend.
On Friday Houston Texans head coach Bill O’Brien gave insight on Watt’s status for their week one opener at home against the Chicago Bears.
O'Brien on DE J.J. Watt: "We are headed in the right direction with him. It looks decent for him to be able to play in the first game."
— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) September 2, 2016
It certainly seems like barring any setbacks, Watt should be able to return to the starting line up in his teams opener. Watt had yet another unreal season in 2015 with 76 combined tackles and 17.5 sacks in a season where he was playing through injury. Prior to last year, Watt had 20.5 sacks in two out of his last three seasons.
This news comes not long after an interview with Watt revealed that he accepts the fact he may not be able to walk by the time he is 50. The story touched on how some of his teammates even worry about Watt and his condition after games, and how it will effect his quality of life in the future.
After the surgery in January, the timeline for a return for Watt indicated he may miss at least the opening game, but Watt looks to defy those odds again if and when he suits up on September 11th against the Bears.