The Houston Texans’ season ended in a whimper with a loss to the New England Patriots in the divisional round this past weekend, but it sounds like they have reason for optimism heading into next year.
Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle reported on Monday that defensive end JJ Watt is “ahead of schedule” in his recovery from back surgery.
“No idea about the time table for the offseason, but I can tell you he’s doing well,” Texans head coach Bill O’Brien said of Watt. “He’s in there working very hard to get better. He’s been in there every day. You can see him out on the field running, you can see him doing different things in the weight room. So to no one’s surprise, I’m sure that he is ahead of schedule.”
The three-time Defensive Player of the Year appeared in just three games in 2016 before reaggravating the back injury he originally suffered in training over the summer and undergoing the season-ending procedure in September.
While such an injury seems worrisome for a player whose dominance is so heavily predicated on mobility and explosiveness, the Texans never saw it as a long-term concern, and this latest development lends credence to that.
Despite Watt missing the significant majority of the season, Houston still managed to allow the fewest total yards of any team in the NFL in 2016 (per ESPN). The idea of a healthy Watt returning to that already elite defensive unit in 2017 has to be straight horror movie material for opposing offenses.
