J.J. Watt

J.J. Watt will reportedly miss the rest of the season after surgery

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

foxsports

The Houston Texans’ quest for a second consecutive AFC South title just became a whole lot harder, as defensive end J.J. Watt will reportedly miss the rest of the season due to season-ending back surgery.

J.J. Watt, who re-injured a disk on his back that he had surgery on last summer, has reportedly had another surgery that will sideline him for the remainder of the NFL season.

Watt re-injured the disk during a 27-0 loss to the New England Patriots on Sept. 22.

Watt’s absence from the field will be a noticeable one for the Houston Texans, as the Wisconsin product has amassed 70.5 sacks in the 67 games proceeding his rookie year.

Just yesterday, Watt posted a tweet about overcoming adversity:

I haven’t missed a game since my sophomore year of high school. This won’t be fun, but it is necessary in order for me to return to 100% and play at the level I am capable of playing at. Everybody deals with adversity in their lives, many much worse than what I’m going through. I have great people around me and I appreciate the thoughts and well wishes from all of you. I am looking forward to the fight back to the top and to the next time that I can step back on that field with my brothers and play the game that I love. You are the best fans in the world and I promise to continue to do everything in power to make you proud.

Super Bowl MVP Von Miller took to Instagram to show his support for Watt.

To help replace Watt—as if that were possible—the Texans signed Antonio Smith. Smith has appeared for the Arizona Cardinals, Houston Texans, Oakland Raiders and most recently the Denver Broncos over the course of his 12-year career. He has 47 sacks in 173 career games.

Regardless of your team allegiance, it’s never fun to see such an elite and gritty player like J.J. Watt go down. Here’s to a speedy recovery, J.J.