He featured in four games, made two starts and just two tackles.

Dr. Walt Lowe, the head team physician for the Houston Texans, didn’t give a specific timetable for the return of Jadeveon Clowney. He had arthroscopic surgery the very next day and throughout the season continued swelling and pain in his knee forced him to undergo microfracture surgery.

The rehabilitation schedule for such a procedure is rigorous and grueling as Clowney would find out but this effectively ended his 2014 rookie season.

The surgery involves creating tiny fractures in the bones surrounding the knee to increase blood flow to the area and aid the recovery of the cartilage. Lowe said that a player such as Clowney would have normally lost three or four centimeters of girth around his quadriceps after the surgery, but Clowney had lost only between half a centimeter and one centimeter.

Lowe spoke to Forbes about Clowney’s use of blood flow restriction, which has allowed Clowney to strengthen his right quadricep, despite not being able to use heavy weights. The Texans also signed Benardrick McKinney to help solidify their linebackers put pressure on opposing teams quarterback.