Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt has been the face of the franchise since the club drafted him in the first round in 2011.
However, after 10 seasons with his original draft club, his 11th season will be replete with unknowns.
The Texans are searching for their fifth general manager and fourth full-time coach in team history. What kind of scheme will the new coach run? Will they have a place for Watt, the three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year? Will the new general manager want to pay Watt’s $17.5 million, or let him go a year early and not sustain any salary cap hit whatsoever?
“There’s a whole lot of unknowns in that situation,” Watt said. “There’s a whole lot of unknowns. So, we’ll see what happens. I don’t have any guarantees left on my contracts. So, something’s got to happen one way or another. But we’ll see what happens. I’m not sure. There’s too many unknowns.”
While Watt has said previously that he would not want to be a part of another rebuild, the question is whether the Texans, even after a 4-12 finish and looking for a new coach and general manager, could even be classified as a rebuild. Houston has one piece that teams that are “rebuilt” don’t have in quarterback Deshaun Watson, a bonafide franchise quarterback.
“When you have a quarterback in this league you have a chance, and there’s a damn good one in our locker room right here,” said Watt. “But there are so many unknowns that you can’t say that at this moment. You can’t say what it’s going to be.”
Watt’s last game with the Texans could end up being played Sunday at 12:00 p.m. CT against the Tennessee Titans at NRG Stadium. For now, that game is the only one on Watt’s mind.
“I’m looking forward to playing a game on Sunday and we’ll see what happens after that,” said Watt.