Texans DE JJ Watt out for Season Following Reported Pectoral Injury

JJ Watt’s 2019 season has come to an end. On Sunday, the Houston Texans defensive end went to Twitter to announce he won’t be able to finish out the year due to a reported pectoral injury. This is the third time in four seasons Watt has suffered a season-long injury. He played in every game last season.

“This game can be beautiful and it can also be brutal,” Watt tweeted Sunday. “Absolutely gutted that I won’t be able to finish the season with my guys and give the fans what they deserve. I truly love this game and can’t stand letting you guys down. Thank you for all of the thoughts & well-wishes.”

It was reported by ESPN that Watt suffered a pectoral injury in Sunday’s game against the Oakland Raiders. Watt confirmed the news when he went to Twitter to show the play were he suffered the injury. He made the tackle for loss but it ultimately cost him.

“It’s tough,” quarterback Deshaun Watson said of losing Watt. “That’s a big part of this team. But he knows that this locker room, this organization, this town, this city, the Houston nation is definitely going to support him through his recovery. We always love him. He’s going to be right there with us. Important, helping us out. You hate to just see, not just him, but anybody go down and any injury, especially a season-ending injury. All the work that he put in to get to this point. It’s crazy and it sucks, but we all send our prayers towards him. We love him, and we’re definitely going to support him.”

In his first five seasons in the NFL, Watt never missed a start. But the injury bug started to hit him in 2016 when he had to have back surgery after playing in just three games. In 2017, Watt played in just five games due to a broken leg. And in 2018, Watt was able to play in all 16 games and he posted 16 sacks, ranking second in the NFL. He ended his 2019 season with 24 tackles, four tackles for loss and four sacks.

Watt is considered one of the best defensive players in the league. He has been named to the All-Pro First Team Five Times and he was named Defensive Player of the Year three times.