Report: J.J. Watt to undergo shoulder surgery, likely out for season
Arizona Cardinals defensive lineman J.J. Watt will undergo shoulder surgery, likely ending his season, sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter.
Watt dislocated his shoulder in the second quarter Sunday versus his former team, the Houston Texans, but finished the contest.
In addition to the dislocation, the veteran defender also tore his labrum, biceps, and rotator cuff, reports NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.
Should he fail to return in 2021, Watt will play no more than half the regular season for the fourth time in the last six years. Back surgery, a broken leg, and a torn pectoral forced him to miss major chunks of the 2016, 2017, and 2019 campaigns.
Watt notched his first sack for the Cardinals in Week 6, bringing down Baker Mayfield of the Cleveland Browns. Despite the underwhelming sack total, Watt's 28 quarterback pressures rank 14th among NFL defenders through seven weeks.
A three-time Defensive Player of the Year with the Texans, Watt signed a two-year, $28-million contract with the Cardinals last offseason.
Arizona hoped he and Chandler Jones would serve as one of the top edge tandems in the NFL. Watt and Jones both have 102 career sacks, tying them with each other for 31st on the NFL's official all-time leaderboard.
Markus Golden actually leads the club in sacks with six. Jones, who has five - but collected all of them in Week 1 - is expected to return from a two-game absence when the Cardinals face the Green Bay Packers on Thursday Night Football in Week 8.