If J.J. Watt wasn’t on IR Saturday when the Houston Texans hosted the Oakland Raiders, he could have technically suited up to play.
The dynamic defensive end is a few months removed from being ruled out for the season after coming back too soon following back surgery in July. But he was on the field working out before the game Saturday, looking pretty smooth.
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On the ABC broadcast, they reported Watt saying he’s making sure he comes back the right way this time around and isn’t rushing anything. That’s smart, because his decision to push his timeline to get on the field at the start of the season was ill-advised. He was visibly hurt and hardly as effective as we’ve grown accustomed to seeing before finally shutting it down for the year.
Showing the depth of the entire defense, Houston still finished as the No. 1-ranked defense in the NFL this past year. Whitney Mercilus and Jadeveon Clowney both emerged as stars on the line, and this unit is going to be scary-good next year if the entire gang comes back healthy.
In the meantime, it was just good to see Watt looking strong and moving well.