Watt returns to practice as team manages workload

When the Texans began their stretching and individual drills Sunday morning, defensive end J.J. Watt was back in his usual spot.

The three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year returned to practice for the first time since the Texans began fully padded sessions Aug. 14 at training camp.

Watt, 31, had been working on the side for the past few days. He hadn’t practiced since Aug. 14, the Texans’ first day in full pads.

The team has been managing his workload as a precautionary measure in training camp to maintain his health.

“It’s always good for us when he’s out at practice, no doubt about it,” Texans coach and general manager Bill O’Brien told a pool reporter. “He’s on a schedule there to get him ready for the season and it’s just good that he’s out at practice.

“I think we play with good energy. When he’s out there, just like Deshaun Watson on offense, those guys definitely elevate practice.”

The three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year has been placed on injured reserve in three of the last four seasons, including missing half the regular season last year with a torn pectoral.

Watt broke his leg in 2017 and had two surgeries for a herniated disk in 2016.

Martin’s training became creative

Nick Martin drew attention from his neighbors when the veteran center borrowed a weighted sled from the Texans’ weight room during the coronavirus pandemic.

The 6-4, 295-pound former second-round draft pick from Notre Dame was determined to simulate blocking techniques and get in a strenuous workout.

“I did it in my front lawn, man,” Martin said Sunday during a Zoom video call. “The neighbors were giving me some looks. We had a couple walking a dog stop, like, ‘What are you doing? You play ball?’

“I was like, ‘Yeah, I play ball.’ ‘Who for?’ ‘The Texans.’ They were like, ‘All right, keep grinding.’ Yeah, it was pretty funny. I got some looks.”

Martin wanted to make sure that he stayed in shape. The sled allowed him to do that.

“I like the sled,” Martin said. “That was one of the biggest things. It’s really good work for the quads, the legs.

“It’s good O-line work, right? You put weight on it, it’s like a drive block. I think it’s one of the best conditioning you can do.”

Odds and ends

Former Raiders and Sam Houston State defensive lineman P.J. Hall practiced with the Texans for the first time. Hall has been working on his conditioning since joining the team, and the Texans wanted him to get into better shape before he started practicing. Hall was cut by the Raiders after he failed a physical with the Minnesota Vikings, nullifying an attempted trade. … The Texans cut undrafted linebacker Jan Johnson on Sunday with the additions of linebacker Daren Bates and long snapper Anthony Kukwa.