Watt: Injuries made last season the most difficult of my career

Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt earned Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2015 despite playing through multiple major injuries.

Watt said Wednesday on SportsRadio 610 that he dealt with a broken hand, herniated disc, and groin issues at various points in the season.

"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 said. "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."

The broken hand seemed to hamper Watt the most. He endured a three-game stretch without a sack late in the season while he played with his hand in a club.

Despite the multiple limitations, Watt didn't miss a game and finished the year with an NFL-best 17.5 sacks, as well as the top marks in quarterback hits and tackles for loss.

It's frightening to think what Watt might have accomplished had he stayed fully healthy. Watt indicated he's feeling much better now after taking a few months to recover.

"I’m doing pretty darn well," he 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."