HOUSTON -- The Houston Texans had a training room full of players last season as the injury bug took its toll, and two particularly noteworthy players have leaned on each other as their rehabs extended into the offseason.
Last month, defensive end J.J. Watt posted a video on Instagram of him and quarterback Deshaun Watson running outside at the team's practice facility. There have been down days this offseason, Watt admitted, while recovering from a broken left leg. He has been through this long rehab process before -- he missed 13 games in 2016 with a back injury -- but this time he has had Watson rehabbing alongside of him.
“We both went through something that is painful, physically and mentally,” Watt said. “We each have our down days and we each have times where you feel like crap and you don’t want to work and the other guy’s like, ‘Hey, come on, come on, let’s work.’
“And I think it’s important to have people like that to bring you along, especially on the days when you’re not feeling your best. So I would say that’s the biggest area that we’ve both benefitted each other, is being able to push each other on days you don’t feel like it.”
The two have been in the Texans' training room together almost every day since Watson began recovery on his torn right ACL in the second half of the 2017 regular season. Watt said the two have learned a lot about each other, which has helped “build up that reputation, that rapport amongst each other and you build up a friendship and a bond and you have to have that.”
Not only has Watson enjoyed Watt's company, but he says he has learned a lot from the veteran, who has been through this before.
“He's just been there,” Watson said. “He's a guy that's a three-time Defensive Player of the Year, so he knows what the type of work is that you need to put in to get to that level. And also, he's been through injuries before. These past couple of years that kind of set him back to where he's at now but at the same time he's just been focused on getting back stronger and becoming a better player than he was before.
“He's been there, keeping me motivated and I'm keeping him motivated. We're just always there. If one of us are having a bad day or we're slacking, we're going to pick each other up and make sure that the other guys around us are also getting better. We just try to bring that good energy and positive vibes.”
