Reigning NFL defensive player of the year J.J. Watt revealed to Sports Radio 610 in Houston this week that his award winning season took place despite an elbow injury being more significant than originally thought. Watt led the NFL with 20.5 sacks, while also deflecting 16 passes, forcing four fumbles and recording a total of 81 tackles.
Watt dislocated his elbow in the first week of training camp, and the team's trainers popped it back into place. He wore a brace the entire season after sitting out most of the preseason before going on to win the Associated Press' Defensive Player of the Year award and making the all-pro roster.
"In the beginning, it definitely affected me," Watt said in the interview. "All the ligaments in there were torn, they were all gone, so they had to have time to recover and regroup. So obviously, I wasn't at full strength.
"The brace helped a lot, but it was more of a mental thing, getting over the thought process of knowing that it was injured and making sure that I could still have confidence in it. As the season went on, I got more and more confidence in it, and obviously, it didn't hinder me too much; I had some success out there. But [I'm] looking forward to a 100 percent full healthy season."
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