The Texans star defender has been injured since late October
Watt set to return from injured reserve
Dec 24, 2019, 10:36 am
Bobby Ellis/Getty Images
He's backkkkkkkkkkk!
Designated for return
The #Texans are officially designating star DE JJ Watt to return off Injured Reserve today, sources tell me and @MikeGarafolo. A big step toward Watt returning from a torn pec.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 24, 2019
This was the first step in J.J. Watt returning to the Texans. They activated his 21-day window where he can practice which allows him to work with the team but not take up a roster spot. They can move him to the active roster at anytime.
The injury's impact
Shoulda told my pec to look out lol https://t.co/LQDVoSheEr
— JJ Watt (@JJWatt) October 28, 2019
Watt tore his pectoral on the above play. It was reportedly torn off the bone and the recovery time is set to be at least three months. He will be making his return to practice roughly eight weeks after his surgery. Which, to say, is crazy.
Whitney Mercilus had a similar injury a couple of seasons ago and if the Texans had been competitive at the end of 2017 he could have returned. Mercilus though injured his pectoral about a month before Watt, making the timeline for recovery more regular.
Watt could be as close to 80 percent according to ProFootballDoc on Twitter.
Time frame for on the field
At best, Watt is playing against the five seed when the Texans host a game for wild card weekend. That is my thought. If truly healthy, a few snaps against Tennessee wouldn't be terrible but I would guess with a chance of re-injury, Watt would save that risk and any performance he has for the playoff game.
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Apparently the action isn't slowing down as the Rockets have reportedly agreed to a contract extension with guard Fred VanVleet.
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