J.J. Watt won his third NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award in 2015 and vaulted to a level of play only Lawrence Taylor can discuss with authority.
There was so much more than that.
"Last year, 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 KILT-AM in Houston on Wednesday. "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."
Broken hand, check.
Herniated disk, check.
Tania Ganguli, of ESPN, filled us in on Thursday regarding some of the rest of Watt's ailments. It's the kind of stuff that makes you cringe:
That makes five partially or fully torn core muscles. If you've ever moved in your life, you know how important those can be -- and how painful they can be when pulled or torn.
Some of those came early in the season, per Ganguli.
Watt didn't miss a game and led the league with 17.5 sacks.
He said he's on track with his recovery form the plethora of injuries.
"I'm doing pretty darn well," Watt said. "I feel really good. I'm back to full-fledged training. Obviously, I'm working to get back to my 100 percent tip-top shape. I am back to my full workouts, I'm back to everything. So now it's just building back to what I was and going above and beyond that, which I will be at by the first game of the season."
