For the second time in three years, J.J. Watt is expected to beat his recovery timetable and return for a playoff game. The three-time Defensive Player of the Year is on track to play against the Rams on Monday.

The first-year Cardinals defensive end suffered a slew of upper-body injuries in Week 7 — a torn labrum, torn bicep, torn rotator cuff and a dislocated shoulder, per the report at the time — and underwent surgery. However, Watt is making the trip and, barring a setback, will suit up against the Rams, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reports (video link).

This would mark the second time Watt has completed an early return for a postseason slate. In 2019, Watt returned from a pectoral tear to suit up for the Texans’ two playoff tilts. A Watt return this time would also be a boon for the Cardinals’ defense, which is coming off allowing 38 points to the Seahawks in Week 18.

The Cards were 7-0 with Watt but 4-6 during the future Hall of Famer’s injury hiatus. Watt returned to practice this week and has not encountered any setbacks. While expecting the veteran defensive lineman to play his usual snap rate may be asking too much, a return to work alongside Chandler Jones certainly stands to help the underdog Cardinals in their first playoff game in six years.

Pro Football Focus rated Watt as a top-10 interior defensive lineman this season. The ex-Texans star worked more on the inside than he had in his final seasons in Houston. Watt, 32, registered five tackles for loss and 10 QB hits in his seven Cardinal games. While the Cards being without DeAndre Hopkins will make their upset bid tougher, Hopkins’ fellow Texas-to-Arizona trekker being in uniform could provide a boost.

The Cardinals have designated J.J. Watt for return from the injured reserve list, per a club announcement. With that, Watt can begin practicing with the team as soon as today and rejoin the 53-man roster at any time over the next three weeks. 

Watt may or may not be trotted out in Week 18 against the Seahawks, a game that could decide the NFC West. But, beyond that, it appears that Watt could suit up for the playoffs. That’s phenomenal news, especially since doctors told him that his surgically-repaired shoulder would keep him sidelined all year long.

“They tell me I’m done, I have to get surgery and it’s going to take four to six months,” Watt said a few weeks ago (via AZCardinals.com). “I’m sitting there and I can easily pout and easily say, ‘Woe is me, four to six months, I’ll do what I have to do.’ But instead I said, ‘Nah, I’m not going to accept that.’”

Watt’s defied doctors in the past, having returned from a pectoral tear to play in the Texans’ two playoff games in 2019. And, when healthy, he’s still playing at a high level. In a limited sample of 341 defensive snaps this year, Pro Football Focus had him ranked as a top-10 interior defensive lineman.

Off to a strong start in his first season with the Cardinals, J.J. Watt went down with a barrage of injuries in late October. The three-time Defensive Player of the Year delved into his timetable Wednesday.

Watt has undergone shoulder surgery, but the Cardinals have pushed back on the notion he is done for the year. Watt is now doing the same, though the timetable he did reveal will make a postseason return a long-odds prospect.

“They tell me I’m done, I have to get surgery and it’s going to take four to six months,” Watt said during a YouTube interview with Houston teenager Maanav Gupta (via AZCardinals.com). “I’m sitting there and I can easily pout and easily say, ‘Woe is me, four to six months, I’ll do what I have to do.’ But instead I said, ‘Nah, I’m not going to accept that.'”

The 11th-year defensive lineman said his rehab is going “much better than we could’ve hoped or expected,” but he stopped short of revealing when he could potentially come back. Watt went down during the Cards’ Week 7 game, on Oct. 24. He suffered a torn labrum, bicep, rotator cuff and a separated shoulder. Even beating his timetable by a month would mean a late-January return. Given the way the Cardinals’ past two games have gone, it is obviously no given they are still playing by the divisional or championship rounds.

A quicker-than-expected comeback would not be out of the ordinary for Watt, who returned from a pectoral tear to play in the Texans’ two playoff games in 2019. Although Watt has only played 341 defensive snaps, Pro Football Focus slotted him as a top-10 interior D-lineman this season. Watt is signed through the 2022 season.

Cardinals pass rusher J.J. Watt may need season-ending shoulder surgery, but nothing has been decided just yet, according to Cardinals GM Steve Keim (via the team website).

“I know surgery is an option, but at the same time I think there are some things that are possibly put in place where we want to play this thing out with a little bit more time and see how he responds,” Keim said. “To me, if there is anybody who can bounce back and can do it, it’s J.J. Watt.”

It’s safe to say that Watt won’t be ready for the Cardinals’ Nov. 7 game against the 49ers, but there’s a chance that he could return for the playoff stretch. Keim also raises a fair point about Watt and his resilience — the veteran managed to finish out the Cards’ Week 7 win over the Texans and beat his recovery timetable in 2019 after suffering a torn pec.

Through seven games this year, Watt has tallied 16 tackles, one sack, one forced fumble, five tackles for loss, and six QB hits. The Cardinals — sans the future Hall of Famer — remain tied with the Packers the NFC lead.

The Cardinals acquired a few standout talents this offseason, but J.J. Watt was unquestionably their highest-profile addition. However, the three-time Defensive Player of the Year has not yet taken the field for his new team at training camp due to a hamstring injury.

It does not sound like the Cardinals are expecting Watt to return soon. The 11th-year defensive end remains on the team’s active/PUP list and may not be ready to come off it during the team’s preseason slate. Kliff Kingsbury, however, said he will feel comfortable deploying Watt in Week 1 even if he only practices in the days leading up to that game, per AZCardinals.com’s Darren Urban (via Twitter).

Watt said Saturday he feels “great” and expects to be on the field for the Cards’ season opener. He felt hamstring discomfort during his conditioning test at the outset of training camp. Watt’s injury has come at a time in which Chandler Jones has gone through practice disgruntled. Arizona’s other All-Pro pass rusher requested a trade late last month. As of now, both are expected to be on the field when the Cardinals face the Titans on Sept. 12, but neither is in an ideal situation at this juncture.

The Cards gave Watt a two-year, $28MM deal with $20MM guaranteed this offseason, winning a wide-ranging free agency pursuit. Watt has made it through two of the past three seasons healthy, but injuries halted the dominant stretch he crafted and have played a key role in the past several years of his career. Watt suffered season-ending injuries in 2016 and ’17 — a back malady and a tibial plateau fracture, respectively — and missed a lengthy stretch in 2019 due to a torn pectoral muscle.

While the Cardinals expect to have their recently acquired defensive end on the field when their regular season starts, Watt’s injury history amplifies any health-related setback he encounters.