J.J. Watt's rehabilitation from an early autumn back surgery is finished.
The defensive end underwent a procedure at the end of September and spent the bulk of the fall and early part of winter going through the rehab process. But during a Wednesday morning press conference at the Gatorade GX Gym in downtown Houston, Watt explained he's moved into a new phase of preparation for 2017.
"We're now past the whole rehab process," Watt said. "So, from this point forward my offseason is really a regular offseason now. So, it's full training."
The 3-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year recorded 1.5 sacks and eight tackles in three 2016 contests before he was placed on injured reserve. The road back to the gridiron now is focused on strengthening a select part of his body.
"There's a lot of added core work to my workouts just to make sure that I really solidify my core and make sure that that's fully locked in to protect my back again in the future, but other than that I'm fully training like I've regularly been training in the offseasons," Watt said.
2017 will be his seventh season in the NFL. Watt doesn't intend to rush back, though.
"I've changed my workouts," Watt said. "I've tweaked my workouts to make sure that I do everything possible to be smart about the way I do things moving forward."
Watt and the Texans will begin the team's organized offseason conditioning program in mid-April at NRG Stadium and the Houston Methodist Training Center.
