Texans’ J.J. Watt Could Return From IR

Good news for the Texans. Star defensive end J.J. Watt could return from injured reserve before the season is through, head coach Bill O’Brien said (Twitter link via Ian Rapoport of NFL.com). 

“He’s certainly made progress based on his work ethic and who he’s working with in the training room. We will see,” said O’Brien on Monday morning.

Regardless of whether he makes it back for either of the team’s final two regular season tilts, Watt is “determined” to return to the field for the playoffs, as John McClain of the Houston Chronicle writes. Though defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel would surely love to have Watt in the fold, he did try to temper expectations a bit.

“We won’t know until that occurs and see where he is because every player who comes back from injury, you have to see where he is and what he can and cannot do,” Crennel said when asked about what it would mean to get Watt back on the field. “Then, I think that’ll make the difference in how much he can help or will help or if he helps.”

Watt suffered a torn pec during the Texans’ Week 8 win over the Raiders, and Watt himself acknowledged that he would miss the remainder of the year. But rehab has gone well for Watt, and he is pushing hard to return. The Texans have all but secured their place in the postseason, and a win over the Bucs on Sunday would seal up the AFC South title. Of course, if the Texans beat the Bucs, they could take the safe approach and keep Watt off of the field until the first round of the playoffs.

Getting Watt back in any capacity would obviously be a major boon for the Texans’ championship hopes. One of the game’s best defenders when healthy, the five-time First Team All-Pro posted 16 sacks in 2018 — the first time he had played a full season since 2015 — and had four sacks in 2019 before suffering the pec injury.