Texans news: Deshaun Watson begins throwing at OTAs

Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson begins throwing at voluntary OTAs while the entire fanbase rises in excitement.

Since tearing his ACL back in November, Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson has been on a steady path toward recovery over the last several months. He has continued to make encouraging progress in his recovery that has many within the organization quite optimistic that he will be ready to go for the 2018 season opener.

During Texans' OTAs on Tuesday morning, Watson displayed more reason for that notion being a realistic goal as he participated in the portion of practice where he was making throws to his wide receivers with ease and accuracy.

Deshaun Watson throwing passes at #Texans OTAs. pic.twitter.com/V99CbgL7eF

— Deepi Sidhu (@DeepSlant) May 22, 2018

#TexansOTAs @deshaunwatson looking good. @abc13houston pic.twitter.com/qjgsbW2oE2

— Bob Slovak (@BobABC13) May 22, 2018

Although it was a simple drill of passing his receivers, there doesn't appear to be any limitation or hesitance from Watson as he makes the throws. In the clips provided, he was able to make accurate short passes with much ease that would suggest that he has regained the necessary strength in his right leg to go through with that physical action.

The Texans have continued to voice that Watson is ahead of schedule for an injury that typically takes between nine months to a year to fully heal. There hasn't been an exact timetable for when he will be able to take the field, but it's clear that he is hedging in the right direction as evidenced by his involvement in team organized workouts.

Houston has a tremendous level of expectations placed on Watson's shoulders after what he showed in his limited time on the field in the 2017 season. Watson was a highly productive quarterback through his first seven career games throwing for 1,699 yards while setting the rookie franchise-record with 19 touchdown passes, which were tied for the most in the NFL at the time before an ACL tear in practice ended his season. Beyond just the production, he demonstrated much poise in the pocket and strong leadership that is needed to succeed at the position over the long haul.