Watt after undergoing back surgery.
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McClain identified Devon Still, Christian Covington, Brandon Dunn and Jeoffrey Pagan as some younger players “who’ll get a lot of playing time at both defensive end positions”, at least in training camp.
That would see Watt miss all of training camp (good thing Hard Knocks covered the Texans last year) but possibly make it back for the start of the regular season.
But another NFL Network reporter says the recovery time could be even longer.
Watt spent most of the off-season recovering after having surgery to fix a groin injury in January. The 27-year-old didn’t miss a game during his first five seasons in the league, and his pain tolerance is evidently high after he played through a variety of abdominal tears last season.
The Texans kick off their season in eight weeks, on September 11 at home against the Chicago Bears.
“Last year was definitely by far the most strenuous on my body that I’ve ever had, fighting through a whole bunch of things that I’ve never dealt with before”, Watt told the Sports Radio 610 in March.
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Another report cast doubt on Watt being ready for the season opener, saying he could be out up to 10 weeks. In his 80 straight games in the National Football League, he’s had 74.5 sacks and 12 fumble recoveries.
