AP

Texans defensive end J.J. Watt broke a kid’s bicycle Monday after a joint practice with the Packers. His groin injury came before that.

Watt left before the practice ended and is not expected to practice Tuesday or play in Thursday’s preseason game, according to coach Bill O’Brien.

“Yeah, it’s all just precautionary,” Watt said, via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. “The groin tightened up a little bit. Rather than try to push through and do some damage to it, I shut it down. I’ve gotten smarter as I’ve gotten older. I started listening to the trainers a little bit more than listening to my own brain.”

Watt, a three-time NFL defensive player of the year, never plays much in the preseason, so he was unlikely to see any snaps Thursday anyway.

He played nine snaps in the third preseason game in 2018, his only snaps in the team’s four meaningless games.

The Wisconsin native and former Badgers star, who drew cheers from the Packers crowd, still will cherish walking onto Lambeau Field.

“It was a dream of mine as a kid, so it’s going to be pretty cool whether I’m in there [playing] or not,” Watt said.