Texans’ Watt back at practice
J.J. Watt returned to practice with the Houston Texans on Tuesday, clearing the way for the star defensive end to play in the team’s playoff game in two weeks.
Watt has been out since Oct. 27 after tearing a pectoral muscle, an injury that required surgery. The Texans will have 21 days from Tuesday to take him off injured reserve and add him to the active roster. If they plan to play him in their first playoff game during the weekend of Jan. 4-5, they’ll have to activate him by 4 p.m. ET the day before the game.
“I feel really good,” Watt said. “We’ve worked extremely hard at rehab. We’ve had a very smooth process and everything’s been going extremely well. So I’m really, really excited to back in the field with everybody and to get back out there helping my team and playing for this city.”
Players on injured reserve must miss eight games before returning and Watt has missed only seven, meaning he could not play in Houston’s regularseason finale against Tennessee on Sunday.
This is the third time in four seasons that the three-time NFL defensive player of the year and former Wisconsin star has had a major injury. He missed the last 13 games of 2016 with a back injury that required surgery and played just five games in 2017 before breaking his leg. He played all 16 games last season and was a first-team AllPro after finishing with 16 sacks and 18 tackles for losses.
Lynch, Seahawks reunited: The Seattle Seahawks have reunited with Marshawn Lynch.
The bruising, 33-year-old running back known as “Beast Mode” signed a contract with the Seahawks on Monday night, his agent confirmed on Twitter.
Seattle is in desperate need of running backs after Chris Carson (hip) and C.J. Prosise (arm) both suffered season-ending injuries in Sunday’s 2713 loss to Arizona. Coach Pete Carroll said earlier Monday that Lynch was flying to Seattle to undergo a physical.
Lynch has not played in more than a year.