Houston Texans star defensive end J.J. Watt is trying to prevent another dislocated elbow this season. He once again donned Sunday the giant elbow brace he wore last year and could wear it for the rest of the season, according to ESPN.com.
"I just want to be smart with it. I put [his left elbow] through a lot of work over the last week," he said. "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."
Watt dislocated his elbow during training camp last year and had to wear the brace for all of the 2012 season. According to Texans head coach Gary Kubiak, his defensive end felt discomfort in his elbow on Thursday.
"His elbow's just sore. We brought him out here to practice today, wanted to keep him out of contact. As y'all could see, the majority of practice was contact," Kubiak said.
The brace didn’t prevent Watt from dominating in 2012. He recorded a league-high 20.5 sacks last year and was named The Associated Press’ Defensive Player of the Year.
"Cosmetically, I'm just not a huge fan of the way it looks but it never really bothered me from a playing standpoint so I don't see it being an issue whatsoever. It's just something I have to play with and that's it," Watt said.
The Texans did not allow Watt to practice much on Sunday due to the soreness. However, he will get back to his regular practice time Monday.
One of the Texans other star players, running back Arian Foster, was supposed to return from the physically unable to perform list Sunday but was kept out of practice. Foster injured his calf muscle during the Texans organized team activities this offseason.
Kubiak said Foster’s calf is “fine” but he has a sore back and is currently day to day.
