The Houston Texans aren't worried about sophomore quarterback Deshaun Watson after a torn right ACL ended his rookie season prematurely.
It was Watson's second major ACL injury; he tore the ligament in his left knee during his freshman year at Clemson.
Head coach Bill O'Brien believes Watson has what it takes to protect himself with the heightened risk of reinjury.
“He has a really good instinct for maybe gaining the 5 or 6 yards and then going down before he takes the shot,” O’Brien said, according to Sarah Barshop of ESPN. “That’s a big thing that young quarterbacks usually have a problem with. He seems to have an instinct for being able to stay out of harm’s way.”
Watson rushed for 269 yards and two touchdowns on 36 attempts over seven games before the injury in a non-contact practice ended his season. The Texans had gone 3-3 over his six starts but finished the season 1-8 after the injury with the tandem of Tom Savage and T.J. Yates under center.
O'Brien cited Watson's awareness and compared his physical ability to extend plays to Ben Roethlisberger, Andrew Luck, and Carson Wentz.
"They’re going to try to keep the play alive and they don’t think it’s ever over. They’re the ultimate competitors," O'Brien said.
"So, you just have to talk to them, in my opinion, the guys that I’ve dealt with like that, 'Hey look, here’s the deal.' Again, going back to I have a clock in my head, and when this clock reaches a certain point with the protection we’ve called, you better either think about taking off, sliding, throwing it away. You don’t need to take an unnecessary shot, but I don’t think it’s easy to coach that with every single guy.”
