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J.J. Watt (torn pec) will return to practice, expected to be available for Texans in postseason

The Houston Texans will get a big boost as they begin the postseason. On Tuesday, the team designated J.J. Watt to return to practice off injured reserve, and the belief is that he’ll be ready to play in the playoffs for the AFC South champs.

Speedy recovery

Watt has made a speedy recovery from a torn pectoral and subsequent surgery. He suffered the injury on October 27 in a win over the Oakland Raiders, just shy of two months ago.

By rule, the Texans have 21 days to move Watt to the active roster; Houston will play in the wild-card round, meaning they’ll host a game in 11 or 12 days.

Texans defensive end J.J. Watt, right, suffered a torn pec in this October 27 game. He will return to practice on Tuesday. (AP/Michael Wyke)
Texans defensive end J.J. Watt, right, suffered a torn pec in this October 27 game. He will return to practice on Tuesday. (AP/Michael Wyke)

On Monday, Texans coach Bill O’Brien wouldn’t answer questions about Watt’s status, saying, “I'm going to pass on that question. I'm not up here to talk about J.J. We'll get to that when we get to that, whether it's this season or offseason or whenever.”

Pass-rush help

But O’Brien did acknowledge that it would be a boon to the Texans’ pass-rush to have the two-time NFL defensive player of the year back on the field.

“Obviously with J.J. and everything that he's done for our football team, any time you have a great player that's been out and the rules allow you to bring him back and help your team,” O’Brien said.

Watt had four sacks and 20 quarterback hits in eight regular season games before his injury.

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