J.J. Watt 'can't put a solid start date on' when he can play again for Texans

Watt has never missed a game in his career, playing in 80 straight games

By Sean Wagner-McGough

Jul 31, 2016 at 1:52 pm ET • 1 min read

J.J. Watt, arguably the best player in the NFL, has no idea when he'll return to the football field.

On Sunday, the Texans' star defender provided an update on his back injury, which required surgery this offseason. The bad news: Watt was unable to name a specific date for his return and didn't guarantee he'll be ready for the Texans' regular-season opener against the Bears.

"I can't put a solid start date on when I can play. I don't plan on missing my first game, but I can't promise it."

--J.J. Watt
— #TexansCamp (@HoustonTexans) July 31, 2016

If Watt can't suit up Week 1, he'll miss his first NFL start after appearing in the first 80 games of his career. His absence would come after an injury-plagued 2015 season, which still resulted in another Defensive Player of the Year award.

"Last year (2015), was definitely by far the most strenuous on my body that I've ever had, fighting through a bunch of things that I've never dealt with before," Watt told SportsRadio 610 in March. "We had the broken hand. I had a herniated disk in my back halfway through the year. I had, obviously, everything that went on with my groins and I don't think everyone fully understand what that process was like."

Watt played through the broken hand, the herniated disk, AND five fully or partially torn core muscles, but suffered a fatal blow in the Texans' playoff loss to the Chiefs when he slipped on the turf.