Bill O’Brien doesn’t shut the door on J.J. Watt’s possible return

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Earlier this month, there was a report about “real optimism” in Houston concerning the possibility that defensive end J.J. Watt could return from injured reserve in the postseason.

The Texans took a step toward making sure they’ll be in the postseason by beating the Titans on Sunday and head coach Bill O’Brien was asked about Watt’s recovery from a torn pectoral muscle on Monday.

“J.J. is working very very hard,” O’Brien said, via Aaron Reiss of TheAthletic.com. “He’s certainly made progress based on his work ethic and who he’s working with in the training room. We will see how it goes.”

The Texans pass rush hasn’t been as impressive since Watt got hurt, so the prospect of getting him back for the postseason is a highly appealing one. Whether it is a realistic one will be determined in the next couple of weeks.