Jadeveon Clowney has been placed on the physically unable to perform list by the Houston Texans.

Clowney will begin training camp on the list and still count against the Texans' active roster. The move allows them to keep Clowney on the PUP list into the regular season if necessary, but he can come off at any time during training camp.

Clowney had microfracture surgery on that right knee Dec. 8, a procedure in which tiny fractures are made into the bones around the knee to improve blood flow to the meniscus, the cartilage that pads the knee joint.

Clowney was the first overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft.

Jadeveon Clowney "looks spectacular" seven months removed from microfracture surgery, according to Texans team physician Dr. Walt Lowe.

Clowney was limited to four games his rookie year after being selected first overall in the draft. He suffered a lateral right meniscus tear in the Texans' 2014 season opener.

The Texans have used blood flow restriction therapy, which is designed to minimize muscle deficits early in rehab.

According to ESPN's Stephania Bell, the Texans were the first team in the league to implement such training, which is also called "tourniquet" training.

Lowe told Forbes while someone of Clowney's size would typically have lost three or four centimeters of girth around his quadriceps while recovering from this surgery, Clowney has lost only between half a centimeter and one centimeter.

"The real goal in the end is to have him be who he was before he got hurt," Lowe said.

J.J. Watt is the only player to record 40 or more quarterback hits in a season since 2000 and he's done it in three straight seasons.

Watt had 50 quarterback hits in 2014, which was first in the NFL well ahead of Carlos Dunlap's 28 and Von Miller's 27.

Watt had 46 quarterback hits in 2013 and 43 in 2012.

The next highest total of quarterback hits in the NFL since 2000 came in 2013 by Robert Quinn and in 2012 by Cameron Wake with 33 apiece.

Ken Stabler, who led the Oakland Raiders to a Super Bowl victory in 1977, has passed away at the age of 69.

According to the family, Stabler passed due to complications associated with Stage 4 colon cancer, which he had been battling since February.

Stabler was the NFL's MVP in 1974 and was nicknamed "The Snake."

J.J. Watt has the top spot in the NFL Network's list of Top 100 Players of 2015.

Watt finished ahead of Aaron Rodgers and became the first defensive player to claim the top slot since the series began in 2011.

Tom Brady, DeMarco Murray and Peyton Manning rounded out the top-5.

The Top 100 voting was done exclusively by NFL players.