Injuries are robbing us of J.J. Watt’s prime, and that’s a crime against football

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The look on J.J. Watt’s face when he exited Sunday Night Football in the first quarter left little doubt about the news that would follow. It was known early in the second half of the Texans’ loss to the Chiefs that Watt wouldn’t play again in 2017. The defensive end has something called a tibial plateau fracture, and he’s apparently done for the year.

Injuries have derailed a player who used to never miss games.
Football’s a cruel game. Watt had offseason back surgery before 2016, and he’d re-injured his back by the end of September. He played in three games. This year, he appeared in five. He’ll have been active for exactly 25 percent of these two regular seasons. He missed a decent little playoff run last year and will miss another this year, assuming Deshaun Watson and a still-solid defense can get Houston there.

Watt’s last play of the 2017 season looked like a freak thing. He engaged with Kansas City offensive lineman Mitchell Schwartz and crumbled as he tried to round the edge, with no contact to his lower body. Watt was still hunting for his first sack of the year when he went to the ground, and it turns out he’s never going to get it.

It’s extra sad because Watt used to be an ironman. From his drafting in 2011 through 2015, he started all 85 games the Texans played, including five in the playoffs. He racked up 79.5 sacks in that span, which is inner-circle Hall of Fame stuff!