J.J. Watt returned to practice on Monday for the first time in OTAs.
"Body felt great, performed really well," Watt said. "It feels really good to play football again. It'd been too long."
Watt returned to action in full form, batting down a pass in the first play of the day. While players were not in full pads, it was a "spirited" OTA practice, according to head coach Bill O'Brien.
"It was good to have him back out there like everybody else," O'Brien said.
Watt was cleared to practice after his Jan. 12 groin surgery. Since the start of the team's offseason workouts, the 2015 AP Defensive Player of the Year had been working with trainers on the side field and rehabbing. Watt, who played throughout a portion of last season with the groin injury, exited in the third quarter of the Texans playoff game against Kansas City and did not return.
J.J. Watt--from his time as a Texan back to his Wisconsin Badger days--is featured here in photos.
