J.J. Watt rests sore elbow
Jul 27, 2013; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt (99) walks onto the practice field at Methodist Training Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Following a day off camp Saturday, the Houston Texans returned to their training camp but had a setback of sorts with J.J. Watt sitting out from contact with a sore elbow.
Watt, the reigning AFC Defensive Player of the Year, is said to not have a serious injury.
“His elbow’s just sore,” Houston Texans head coach Gary Kubiak said to the Houston media Sunday. “We brought him out here to practice (Sunday), wanted to keep him out of contact. As y’all could see, the majority of practice was contact. He’ll be out here tomorrow, whether we limit his contact tomorrow. He just had a sore elbow.”
Kubiak continued to say they weren’t really concerned, just want to rest the elbow from contact. Remember Watt wore an elbow brace last season.
“No, it got screwed up on him, what was it, Thursday … so we rested him Friday,” Kubiak said, “He went through his treatment and is still a little sore today, so it’s probably a precaution.”
Watt also spoke to the media following camp on Sunday, as he too wasn’t that worried about the elbow injury.
“Just resting up a little bit,” he said. “Camp is a grind, (and I’m) just resting up a little bit. (The) elbow is a little sore, so the brace is back. It’s just precaution. I just want to be smart with it.
“I put it through a lot of work over the last week. It’s done a lot of work without the brace for the first time in a long time, so I’m bringing the brace back just as kind of a security measure, you know, to make sure it stays secure and it stays safe.”
The Texans play their first preseason later this week, and though Watt wasn’t in contact drills, he did work on his own on a second field, prompting questions regarding his work ethic and where such a great effort comes from.
“It’s all self-motivated, but it does nothing but help,” Watt said on the extra work. “I mean, when I’m working out by myself, in the offseason when you’re working out by yourself, when you don’t want to put in a workout.
“When you have those feelings of, ‘Man I’d rather just sleep,’ you’re self-motivated, but then you also think about all for these fans. All of these people who come to watch, all of these people that turn on their TVs every Sunday and want to see you play well, makes it that much easier to get into the gym and put in your work.”
Following the afternoon practice, Kubiak spoke more about Watt, mostly regarding his elbow brace.
“I don’t know, I think it’s probably smart,” Kubiak said of Watt wearing an elbow brace. “If his elbow is going to get sore on him, it’s smart to wear it at least for a week or so until he gets the soreness out of it, but I think he’s fine.”