Texans’ Watson is no worse for tear
Houston quarterback was brilliant as rookie before knee injury
WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W. VA . — There was no knee brace. There was no noticeable limp. The Deshaun Watson who scampered around the Houston Texans’ practice field Wednesday at The Greenbrier resort looked very much like the eye-catching quarterback who became an instant NFL star last season as a rookie, running the football with aplomb and zipping passes on time and on target to his receivers.
It was, of course, only early August, more than a month until the on-field events begin to matter, and the defensive players who were on the field at this point meant Watson no harm. But on this day, at least, it was easy to envision Watson making a seamless and productive return from the torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee that cut short his dazzling rookie season, and leading the Texans back into playoff contention in the suddenly formidable AFC South.
“I don’t even think about it,” Watson said of his surgically repaired knee following practice. “When I’m on the field, I’m locked in, focused on my job. I try to have a positive play and try to get points on the board.”
Watson, the former Clemson standout taken 12th overall by the Texans in last year’s NFL draft, was well on his way to being the NFL’s offensive rookie of the year last season before suffering his injury during a November practice. In a 2017 NFL season filled with notable injuries, Watson’s was about as deflating as any because he had established himself so quickly as one of the league’s most electrifying players.
He inexplicably began the season on the bench but quickly took over as the Texans’ starter in Week 2. He passed for 1,699 yards and 19 touchdowns in his seven games. His passer rating of 103.0 would have been the league’s third best if he’d had enough passing attempts to qualify. He was coming off a 402-yard passing performance at Seattle when he got hurt.
Now the issue is whether he can come back and do it again — and whether his knee will allow it to happen so soon. It is not Watson’s first experience with this sort of thing. He rebounded from a torn left ACL as a freshman at Clemson to lead the school to a national championship and consecutive title game appearances against Alabama.
“Just kind of just the same way I’m doing with this one: I was back by the first day of training camp and was able to participate in everything and all the drills,” Watson said. “We didn’t even look back. We just kind of went forward ... We didn’t even think about the knee ... It’s not an issue now. It wasn’t an issue back then, either.”
That experience perhaps has served Watson well in this return.
“I’m very pleased with how he goes about his business every day,” Texans coach Bill O’Brien said Wednesday. “He’s really attacked that rehab to put himself in position to be able to be out here and practise. I think having, unfortunately, done it before, he had a real good understanding of the timetable for the rehab to be able to be ready to practise.”
The Texans, after a 4-12 season, need Watson to be very good in a division that includes the Jacksonville Jaguars and Tennessee Titans, who were both playoff teams last season
Watson, who ran for 269 yards in seven games., said he won’t change his approach in Year 2, even with the injury.
“The only difference is I’m more knowledgeable than I was last year, which is a good thing,” Watson said. “Outside of that, I’m gonna do what I do and continue to do that. There’s no reason to change it.”