Texans' Watt done rehabbing back, cleared for football

HOUSTON -- Texans defensive end J.J. Watt said he is done rehabbing his back and has been cleared for football activities.

Watt has undergone three surgeries in the last year, including two on his back. Watt had surgery in late July on a herniated disk and missed all of training camp and the preseason, but he was back for the season opener. Watt played in the Texans' first three games but reinjured his back in late September and needed a second surgery.

Watt said he feels "great" after spending much of the season recovering.

"We're now past the whole rehab process," Watt said. "We've transitioned from a rehab and rebuild into just being an athlete again, to now back into regular training, and really training as an elite athlete again, and taking this now to the next level."

Though he followed the rules while aggressively rehabbing his first back surgery, Watt said he feels that having a longer period of time to get back to playing football has helped in his recovery this time around.

"The one nice thing about the situation is that I've had the proper amount of time to take the recovery as methodically as it needs to be taken and do things the right way, with the proper patience, but also the proper aggressiveness at times," he said.

Watt said he is now training as he regularly does during the offseason and has added more core workouts to protect his back in the future.

The three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year said he doesn't see why he wouldn't be back on the field for the Texans during organized team activities in April.