O’Brien thinks Watt could return this year
Texans coach Bill O’Brien isn’t ruling out a potential scenario where defensive end J.J. Watt would be designated for return from injured reserve.
Watt is making steady progress from a torn pectoral suffered in October against the Raiders. And the Texans, who previously activated tight end Jordan Thomas from injured reserve-designated to return, have an available designation they can use for Watt.
“I’m going to tell you that J.J. is working very, very hard, and he has certainly made progress based solely on his work ethic and who he’s working with in the training room,” O’Brien said Monday morning. “We’ll see how it goes.”
The pass rush has languished without Watt in the lineup.
While Watt previously declared himself out for the year, writing on social media that he was “absolutely gutted that I won’t be able to finish the season with my guys,” he’s much more optimistic now about his outlook based on how his rehabilitation is progressing.
“It’s going extremely well,” Watt told NBC before the Texans’ Sunday night win over the Patriots two weeks ago. “I feel unbelievable. The doctors, the rehab guys are taking great care of me, and I feel really, really good.”
The Texans continue to closely monitor Watt’s recovery. Watt has been attending practices and has been out of a protective sling for several weeks following surgery to repair the damage to his chest.
“I do what the doctor tells me,” Watt said. “We’ve always been wanting to make sure we do everything we possibly can to get back out there with the guys. If the doctor gives me the green light at some point, in the near future, I will take the green light gladly and get back out there with my guys.”
Cunningham raises game in third season
Linebacker Zach Cunningham has elevated his game in a major way in his third season.
He leads all AFC players with a career-high 128 tackles. He also has two sacks.
With an aggressive, athletic style, Cunningham had 14 tackles, a half-sack and a quarterback hit Sunday during a 24-21 win over the Titans.
Cunningham has four games with at least 14 tackles this season. He has six double-digit tackle games, tying Brian Cushing for the fourth-most double-digit tackles in a single season in franchise history.
The former second-round draft pick from Vanderbilt is the only NFL player to record over 100 tackles on defense and five tackles on special teams this season.
“I think anybody that puts the film on and watches how active he is and how he’s tackling and just his instincts for the ball, what he’s doing in coverage, he’s playing at a really high
level,” Bill O’Brien said.
Reid delivers despite lingering injuries
Safety Justin Reid has endured a lot of pain this season.
After undergoing offseason wrist surgery, Reid injured his shoulder during the preseason and has been suffering partial dislocations throughout the year.
Despite the discomfort, Reid has continued to excel, especially in clutch tackling situations.
Reid dislodged the football with a big goal-line hit Sunday that turned into linebacker Whitney Mercilus’ 86-yard interception return. Earlier this season, Reid preserved a victory over the Jaguars with a tackle on running back Leonard Fournette to prevent a twopoint conversion run.
“He’s made two huge plays for us this season relative to the goal line,” Bill O’Brien said of Reid, who has 72 tackles and one interception. “Justin, he’s a hell of a football player. All of these guys are playing bangedup at this time of the season, just like every player in the league is. Justin’s a tough guy, he’s very smart, really good tackler, knows our defense like the back of his hand.”
McKinney could play against Buccaneers
Although it’s a short recovery time, the Texans haven’t ruled out middle linebacker Benardrick McKinney for Saturday’s game at Tampa Bay.
McKinney suffered a concussion Sunday during a win over the Titans and didn’t return. He is now under the NFL concussion protocol.
“I think there’s time,” Bill O’Brien said. “I mean, we’ll have to see. But just from the reports after the game, I think we’ve got a chance there.”