WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. — Nearly a year ago, the scalpel sliced into his back.
For two months, J.J. Watt couldn't run, couldn't lift, couldn't even think about getting into a three-point stance. He couldn't drive an offensive tackle into his quarterback's lap with a gritty bull rush. He couldn't make his helmet cut into the bridge of his nose until blood ran down both sides of his face.
While his teammates carried on in Houston, Watt was stuck at home in Wisconsin. For the first time since he was in fifth grade, he couldn't be a slave to a football season's routine.