The Houston Texans took a devastating hit that could derail their season after rookie quarterback Deshaun Watson suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in a non-contact injury at practice Thu., Nov. 2. Watson will miss the remainder of the season, according to NFL Network.
Houston Texans rookie quarterback DeShaun Watson
The NFL just named Watson the AFC Offensive Player of the Month and the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Month for October. Watson is the first rookie quarterback in NFL history to win AFC Offensive Player of the Month. He joins Barry Sanders (1989), Edgerrin James (1999), Mike Anderson (2000) and Kareem Hunt (2017) as the only rookies to win the award. The NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports that Watson tore his right ACL. Watson tore the left ACL in college, according to Rapoport.
The news came as a crushing blow to Houston sports fans, who were on a high after the Houston Astros World Series victory the previous day.
The No. 12 overall pick in the NFL draft out of Clemson, Watson took over for Tom Savage midway through the Texans’ season-opening loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars and hasn’t looked back. He is tied for the NFL lead in passing touchdowns (19) with the Philadelphia Eagles’ Carson Wentz, while Houston leads the NFL in scoring with 30.7 points per game.
The Texans are signing quaterback Matt McGloin, according to reports. Savage is expected to resume his role as starter.
Houston already lost three-time defensive player of the year J.J. Watt to a tibial plateau fracture earlier this year. Linebacker Whitney Mercilus is also out for the season.
The Texans host the Indianapolis Colts on Sun., Nov. 5.
