J.J. won’t know for sure how his surgically repaired back is going to respond until he begins contact, but based on his offseason work, the Texans defensive end has confidence all is well.
“I feel great,” Watt said, via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. “I’m very happy with the way it responded. Obviously with the amount of time we took this time to make sure it responded properly, I would hope that it would respond the way it did. It feels great.
“Now, it’s a matter of going out there and having fun and enjoying it. With a major injury, it’s so easy to sometimes think about it too much and let that creep into the back of your mind. That’s what’s been so nice about the practices to let it fade, fade and fade. Playing football, it feels natural; it feels good. I feel like I’m home.”
Watt, the NFL’s three time Defensive Player of the Year, had two surgeries on a herniated disk last season. His 2016 season lasted only three games, limiting him to eight tackles and 1.5 sacks.
Watt has 76 sacks in six seasons.