Texans' J.J. Watt: Expects to be placed on IR

Watt (back) expects to be placed on injured reserve Wednesday, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com reports.

Analysis:

Watt aggravated a previous back injury during Thursday's outing versus the Patriots and is now slated to be sidelined indefinitely. However, even if he's placed on injured reserve, there's still a chance he'll be able to return much later in the season, so it doesn't necessarily rule him out for the rest of the year. With that said, the Texans are expected to re-sign fellow defensive end Antonio Smith to take Watt's spot on the roster, which should provide them a familiar face on the defensive line for some much-needed additional depth.