Texans HC Bill O’Brien tells ESPN’s Ed Werder that he’s encouraged by the progress DE J.J. Watt has made from the back surgery he underwent for a herniated disc close to a month ago.
“He’s really on an upward trajectory,” O’Brien said, per Werder. “Everything is going in the right direction. I don’t think we can predict whether he’ll be ready for Week 1 or Week 2, but he’s going to be ready sooner rather than later.”
Houston placed Watt on the active/PUP list a few weeks ago.
Initial reports said that Watt could miss between 6-8 weeks. However, it appears as though he could be out as along 10 weeks, depending on how he heals moving forward.
Watt, 27, is in the third year of his eight-year, $108.88 million contract that includes $51.8 million guaranteed. He stands to make a base salary of $10.5 million for the 2016 season.
In 2015, Watt appeared in all 16 games for the Texans and recorded 76 tackles, 17.5 sacks, three forced fumbles, a recovery and eight pass defenses. Pro Football Focus has him rated as the No. 2 interior defender out of qualifying players.
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